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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: rest · court · temple · race · stock · date · bass · wound

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bass — the fish
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — shares
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stock — goods
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. race — a contest
  12. court — of a king
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rest — a break
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wound — an injury
  20. race — humankind
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. court — for sport
  24. date — the fruit

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