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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 116 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. race — humankind
  3. court — of a king
  4. race — the arms race
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rash — a series
  8. pass — a permit
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. clip — a video
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. court — for sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. season — in sport
  24. race — a contest

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