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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — the arms race
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. court — of law
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rock — a stone
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. mine — for digging
  13. deal — to handle
  14. ball — a great time
  15. court — for sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. court — of a king
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. ball — a dance
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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