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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 120 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pass — a permit
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. kid — to tease
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. race — humankind
  8. cell — in biology
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. rush — hurry
  12. capital — money
  13. court — for sport
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. kid — child
  16. cell — a phone
  17. court — of a king
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. capital — a city
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. race — a contest
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. capital — a big letter

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