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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. court — for sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — of a king
  7. wind — moving air
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. race — a contest
  11. squash — the sport
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. court — of law
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. craft — a skill
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. perch — the fish
  22. squash — to crush
  23. craft — boats
  24. squash — the vegetable

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