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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. court — of a king
  4. rest — what's left
  5. race — humankind
  6. last — final
  7. court — of law
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. court — for sport
  12. race — a contest
  13. cue — for pool
  14. scale — in music
  15. last — finally
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. ball — a dance
  19. race — the arms race
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cue — a hint
  22. scale — size or range
  23. cue — a signal
  24. sharp — exactly

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