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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 · race · cell · last · mug · bay

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. court — of law
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mug — a face
  6. court — of a king
  7. race — the arms race
  8. court — for sport
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. race — a contest
  13. last — finally
  14. mug — to rob
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. race — humankind
  17. last — final
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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