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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. ball — a dance
  3. mark — a trace
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. mark — a grade
  10. land — to come down
  11. court — of law
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. court — of a king
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. race — humankind
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. court — for sport
  20. land — ground
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ball — a great time
  24. land — a country

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