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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cap — of ice
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wind — moving air
  9. charge — a price
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. sharp — clever
  12. charge — in control
  13. cap — a hat
  14. race — humankind
  15. cap — a lid
  16. charge — electricity
  17. race — a contest
  18. court — of law
  19. face — to confront
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. court — for sport
  22. face — part of the head
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

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