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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. race — a contest
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. spell — letters
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — an amount
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pop — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. pop — to visit
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. degree — from a university
  14. race — humankind
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spell — magic
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spell — a short time
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pop — soda
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. court — for sport

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