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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. date — the fruit
  6. rule — a law
  7. race — a contest
  8. court — for sport
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. clip — for paper
  11. race — the arms race
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. race — humankind
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a music group
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. rule — government
  19. foot — a measure
  20. pitch — completely
  21. clip — to cut
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. rule — to rule out

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