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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. court — for sport
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cold — not warm
  8. court — of law
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cold — an illness
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. race — humankind
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of a king
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. mate — a friend
  20. race — the arms race
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mate — to breed
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ruler — for measuring

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