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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: race · mark · bat · court · prune · chip · content · racket

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. race — humankind
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bat — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. race — the arms race
  10. content — happy
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mark — a trace
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. content — the amount
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. mark — a grade
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. court — of a king
  20. race — a contest
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. court — of law
  24. racket — for tennis

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