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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · plane · race · fine · straw · last · court · pop

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. last — final
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. court — for sport
  7. race — the arms race
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. race — a contest
  11. pit — a hole
  12. fine — high quality
  13. pop — soda
  14. court — of law
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. pit — in a race
  23. race — humankind
  24. straw — dry grass

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