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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 124 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. race — humankind
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ground — a position
  10. vault — a safe
  11. club — for dancing
  12. court — of a king
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. race — a contest
  18. club — for golf
  19. ground — crushed
  20. court — for sport
  21. club — a group
  22. mark — a grade
  23. race — the arms race
  24. fan — to cool the air

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