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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pit — in a race
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. season — in sport
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pit — a hole
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. court — of law
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mark — a trace
  21. race — the arms race
  22. season — of the year
  23. mark — a grade
  24. squash — the 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