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

Word bank: court · cold · race · temple · plane · rock · chip · jam

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. race — a contest
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. race — the arms race
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. rock — a stone
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chip — to eat
  14. rock — music
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. chip — for betting
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. court — for sport
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cold — an illness

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