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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 120 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. file — a tool
  5. rock — music
  6. pit — in a race
  7. court — for sport
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. wound — an injury
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. rock — a stone
  19. court — of law
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a document
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. tear — from crying
  24. race — the arms race

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