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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. spring — of water
  4. spell — a short time
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. court — of a king
  8. race — the arms race
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — for sport
  12. spring — a coil
  13. kid — child
  14. spell — magic
  15. mark — a trace
  16. court — of law
  17. spell — letters
  18. current — electric
  19. current — happening now
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. current — of water
  23. mark — a grade
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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