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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 116 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 a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ground — crushed
  3. race — a contest
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. race — humankind
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. court — for sport
  8. fine — all right
  9. race — the arms race
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. swing — in golf
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — in biology
  21. court — of law
  22. squash — the sport
  23. ground — the earth
  24. squash — to crush

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