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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. race — humankind
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. court — of law
  9. race — the arms race
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cell — a phone
  14. capital — a city
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. race — a contest
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — to trim
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. game — wild animals
  24. capital — money

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