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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 120 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 · last · race · pop · cell · racket · cue · ruler

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cue — a signal
  7. court — of law
  8. pop — soda
  9. cue — a hint
  10. race — humankind
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. race — a contest
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pop — to visit
  15. last — finally
  16. race — the arms race
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cue — for pool
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. court — of a king
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pop — music
  24. cell — in biology

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