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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. present — there
  3. rule — a law
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. rule — government
  7. craft — boats
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. court — of law
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. court — of a king
  13. present — the time now
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. deal — to handle
  21. present — a gift
  22. race — humankind
  23. craft — a skill
  24. sharp — clever

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