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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cap — a lid
  5. prune — to trim
  6. court — of a king
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ball — a great time
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mark — a trace
  12. ball — a dance
  13. court — for sport
  14. race — humankind
  15. cap — of ice
  16. court — of law
  17. race — the arms race
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. race — a contest
  20. plane — a tool
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. prune — to trim
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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