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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: band · bear · kick · jam · race · court · key · game

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bear — the animal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. court — of law
  7. game — a match
  8. bear — the animal
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — of a king
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. key — in music
  15. band — a ring
  16. court — for sport
  17. kick — in football
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. key — the most important part
  21. race — humankind
  22. band — a music group
  23. race — the arms race
  24. key — for a lock

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