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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. race — humankind
  3. swing — music
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. press — to push
  7. spell — letters
  8. court — of a king
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. swing — to play on
  11. craft — a skill
  12. court — of law
  13. rule — a law
  14. race — a contest
  15. rule — government
  16. press — a publisher
  17. swing — in golf
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. court — for sport
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. press — newspapers
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. race — the arms race
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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