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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. club — for dancing
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. race — a contest
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lie — to recline
  10. club — a group
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. club — for golf
  13. court — of law
  14. shower — rain
  15. race — the arms race
  16. drill — army training
  17. roll — a cake
  18. court — for sport
  19. race — humankind
  20. drill — a practice
  21. court — of a king
  22. roll — a list
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. lie — an untruth

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