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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. race — humankind
  4. cue — a signal
  5. drill — army training
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — of law
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. face — to confront
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a hint
  12. race — the arms race
  13. drill — the tool
  14. face — to point toward
  15. court — for sport
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. prune — to trim
  19. face — part of the head
  20. race — a contest
  21. drill — a practice
  22. key — in music
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of a king

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