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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — a short time
  3. court — of a king
  4. race — humankind
  5. bank — of a river
  6. current — of water
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spell — magic
  11. court — of law
  12. race — the arms race
  13. current — electric
  14. clip — for paper
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — not warm
  21. sharp — clever
  22. clip — a video
  23. current — happening now
  24. court — for sport

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