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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. court — of law
  3. bore — to tire
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. race — humankind
  6. current — electric
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. scale — in music
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bore — to drill
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. court — of a king
  13. race — a contest
  14. court — for sport
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. race — the arms race
  17. current — of water
  18. cap — a lid
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. current — happening now
  24. scale — size or range

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