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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. court — of a king
  3. object — to protest
  4. row — to paddle
  5. court — of law
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. race — humankind
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. object — a thing
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. row — a line
  12. fall — the season
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a ring
  17. fall — to drop
  18. object — an aim
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. race — the arms race
  21. court — for sport
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. race — a contest

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