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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — of law
  6. present — a gift
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. present — the time now
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — for sport
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pass — a permit
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. race — humankind
  19. spell — a short time
  20. roll — a list
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. present — there
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. roll — a cake

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