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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. court — for sport
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bore — to tire
  14. court — of a king
  15. ball — a great time
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bore — to drill
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bat — the animal
  23. race — humankind
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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