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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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. court — for sport
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — humankind
  7. rock — music
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — music
  11. squash — the sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bass — low music
  14. squash — to crush
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of law
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. march — the month
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rock — a stone
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  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