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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 120 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. race — the arms race
  3. spring — of water
  4. band — a music group
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. court — for sport
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. court — of a king
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — the season
  14. band — a ring
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. last — final
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. wax — to grow
  20. spring — a coil
  21. last — finally
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. last — to go on
  24. dip — to sink

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