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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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 — for sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. ball — a dance
  4. present — the time now
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. court — of law
  7. race — humankind
  8. bark — to shout
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bore — to tire
  12. present — a gift
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. content — happy
  15. bore — to drill
  16. ball — a great time
  17. drill — army training
  18. content — the amount
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. drill — the tool
  21. court — of a king
  22. drill — a practice
  23. present — there
  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