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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. court — for sport
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. race — a contest
  6. can — to be able to
  7. current — of water
  8. race — the arms race
  9. squash — to crush
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. race — humankind
  13. current — electric
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. kick — in football
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. court — of a king
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. current — happening now
  24. court — of law

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