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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 · bass · ground · last · bear · rest · calf · race

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bear — the animal
  3. court — of law
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. race — humankind
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bass — the fish
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rest — what's left
  12. last — to go on
  13. race — a contest
  14. last — finally
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rest — a break
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. last — final
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. ground — crushed
  24. calf — a young animal

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