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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. last — finally
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. pop — to visit
  7. race — the arms race
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. court — for sport
  10. pop — music
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. pop — soda
  16. court — of a king
  17. race — humankind
  18. land — to come down
  19. last — final
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. court — of law
  24. last — to go 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