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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 120 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. race — humankind
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. court — for sport
  11. charge — electricity
  12. race — the arms race
  13. kid — to tease
  14. court — of law
  15. file — a document
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. race — a contest
  18. file — a tool
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. charge — in control
  21. bear — the animal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. charge — a price
  24. file — a line of people

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