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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tube — a container
  3. club — a group
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. club — for dancing
  6. race — humankind
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. ground — the earth
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cold — not warm
  13. club — for golf
  14. race — a contest
  15. pit — in a race
  16. ground — crushed
  17. race — the arms race
  18. court — for sport
  19. ground — a position
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. court — of a king
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. tube — the underground

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