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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. court — for sport
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bass — low music
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. last — final
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. last — finally
  13. race — a contest
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitch — completely
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. court — of law
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cell — in biology
  23. last — to go on
  24. race — humankind

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