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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. snap — to click
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stock — goods
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of law
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — wild animals
  14. race — humankind
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. present — there
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — shares
  21. mine — for digging
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. present — a gift
  24. game — a match

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