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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. court — of law
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. season — of the year
  7. last — finally
  8. race — humankind
  9. stem — to come from
  10. court — for sport
  11. last — final
  12. object — to protest
  13. sharp — clever
  14. last — to go on
  15. object — a thing
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. race — the arms race
  19. season — in sport
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. rock — music
  22. object — an aim
  23. race — a contest
  24. rock — a stone

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