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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. date — the fruit
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. court — for sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. court — of law
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. race — a contest
  11. hand — help
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fork — in a road
  16. race — the arms race
  17. spring — the season
  18. band — a music group
  19. race — humankind
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. band — a ring

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