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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 · bear · saw · race · cap · wind · present · dip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. court — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wind — moving air
  7. present — the time now
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. race — humankind
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bear — the animal
  12. present — a gift
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. court — of a king
  15. cap — of ice
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cap — a hat
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bear — the animal
  20. present — there
  21. race — a contest
  22. dip — to sink
  23. court — of law
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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