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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bore · spring · game · court · cap · can · race

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bore — to tire
  3. court — for sport
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pit — in a race
  9. spring — the season
  10. race — humankind
  11. can — a tin
  12. court — of a king
  13. can — to be able to
  14. game — a match
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. can — a tin
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spring — of water
  19. bore — to drill
  20. court — of law
  21. spring — a coil
  22. race — a contest
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. game — wild animals

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