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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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. drill — a practice
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. deal — to handle
  7. pop — music
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — the arms race
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. race — a contest
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. drill — army training
  24. pop — soda

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