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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cue — a signal
  3. court — of law
  4. cue — a hint
  5. club — a group
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. court — of a king
  10. wind — moving air
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cue — for pool
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. squash — to crush
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bound — tied together
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. court — for sport
  22. squash — the sport
  23. race — a contest
  24. bound — certain

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