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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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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: chair · race · bass · club · court · bark

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. race — a contest
  8. chair — a leader
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. club — for golf
  14. race — the arms race
  15. court — for sport
  16. bark — to shout
  17. club — a group
  18. race — humankind

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