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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. jam — in traffic
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. court — for sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lie — to recline
  9. court — of a king
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cap — a hat
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cap — of ice
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bat — the animal
  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