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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. race — a contest
  4. wake — a trail
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. net — in sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pop — music
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. net — for catching
  12. pop — to visit
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pop — soda
  16. net — after costs
  17. stand — to bear
  18. race — humankind
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. court — of a king
  24. straw — dry grass

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