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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. present — there
  3. prune — to trim
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. present — a gift
  7. cold — an illness
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. race — the arms race
  14. present — the time now
  15. court — of a king
  16. race — a contest
  17. cold — not warm
  18. court — for sport
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. ball — a dance
  22. court — of law
  23. prune — to trim
  24. charge — in control

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