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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.

Make a worksheet

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: stick · cold · land · safe · object · race · net · court

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. land — to come down
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — in sport
  5. court — of law
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. race — the arms race
  8. object — to protest
  9. court — for sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — a contest
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. net — after costs
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. object — an aim
  21. land — ground
  22. object — a thing
  23. race — humankind
  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