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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. foot — a measure
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. land — to come down
  6. squash — to crush
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of law
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. court — for sport
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — humankind
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cold — the Cold War

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