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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wound — an injury
  3. suit — clothes
  4. race — humankind
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. wound — an injury
  8. row — to paddle
  9. suit — to fit
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. row — a line
  15. race — a contest
  16. suit — in cards
  17. mine — for digging
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cap — a hat
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. court — of a king
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. race — the arms race

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