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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — of law
  4. race — the arms race
  5. track — a song
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. race — a contest
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bulb — for light
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. race — humankind
  17. track — a path
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. court — for sport
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cold — an illness
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. court — of a king

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