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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. key — the most important part
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. key — in music
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. court — for sport
  12. race — the arms race
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. court — of law
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. march — the month
  17. race — a contest
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. court — of a king
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bat — the animal

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