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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. stem — to come from
  4. present — a gift
  5. snap — to click
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. race — humankind
  8. spell — magic
  9. court — of law
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. present — there
  12. court — for sport
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. spell — a short time
  16. race — a contest
  17. lie — to recline
  18. present — the time now
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spell — letters
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stem — a stem cell

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