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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. race — a contest
  5. hand — in cards
  6. race — humankind
  7. land — a country
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. ball — a great time
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — help
  15. land — to come down
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. court — for sport
  20. land — ground
  21. race — the arms race
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kick — in football
  24. court — of law

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