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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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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: court · cold · pass · chair · mug · can · race · fork

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mug — to rob
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. mug — a face
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cold — an illness
  11. court — for sport
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. can — a tin
  15. mug — a cup
  16. court — of a king
  17. chair — a leader
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. race — a contest
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — a permit
  23. race — the arms race
  24. court — of law

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