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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. court — of a king
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. court — for sport
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pass — a permit
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. chip — for betting
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — of law
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. race — a contest
  20. sharp — clever
  21. last — final
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. sharp — with an edge

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