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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. race — a contest
  5. file — a document
  6. game — a match
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. race — the arms race
  9. court — of law
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. court — for sport
  14. file — a line of people
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wound — an injury
  17. file — a tool
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. race — humankind
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bear — the animal

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