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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 116 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. race — the arms race
  3. court — of a king
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — a thing
  7. key — in music
  8. court — for sport
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. race — humankind
  11. cap — of ice
  12. key — the most important part
  13. branch — a division
  14. content — happy
  15. cap — a lid
  16. race — a contest
  17. cap — a hat
  18. key — for a lock
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. court — of law
  24. perch — the fish

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