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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rest — what's left
  4. race — the arms race
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. rest — a break
  9. perch — the fish
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. ball — a dance
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. race — humankind
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — child
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. court — for sport
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a great time
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. race — a contest

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com