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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. date — the fruit
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. race — the arms race
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. court — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. court — of law
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. cold — not warm
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mate — a friend

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