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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. board — to get on
  3. ground — the earth
  4. court — of a king
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. race — humankind
  10. board — a committee
  11. ground — a position
  12. race — a contest
  13. cold — not warm
  14. race — the arms race
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — an illness
  19. season — in sport
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. court — of law

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