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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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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: racket · bore · race · season · court · ground

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ground — crushed
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. court — for sport
  6. race — a contest
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. court — of law
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. season — in sport
  13. race — the arms race
  14. season — of the year
  15. bore — to tire
  16. race — humankind
  17. bore — to drill
  18. season — to add flavour

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