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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wound — an injury
  3. race — humankind
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. court — of a king
  6. chest — a box
  7. court — for sport
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. court — of law
  13. club — for golf
  14. craft — boats
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — a contest
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. craft — a skill
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. club — for dancing
  22. race — the arms race
  23. last — finally
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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