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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. game — a match
  3. rash — hasty
  4. mug — a face
  5. race — humankind
  6. rash — a series
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. band — a music group
  12. race — a contest
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mug — to rob
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. court — of law
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mug — a cup
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chair — to sit on

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