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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: bay · lash · degree · lean · race · band · bore · court

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. 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. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. court — of law
  4. band — a music group
  5. race — the arms race
  6. lean — thin
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. court — of a king
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. court — for sport
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. band — a ring
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. 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