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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: wound · cap · court · board · date · fan · race · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. court — for sport
  3. race — humankind
  4. date — the fruit
  5. race — a contest
  6. board — to get on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wound — an injury
  14. board — a committee
  15. cap — a hat
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pop — soda
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pop — music
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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