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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: can · band · bowl · chest · root · court · race · ground

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. band — a ring
  3. root — of a plant
  4. chest — of your body
  5. can — a tin
  6. court — for sport
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. can — a tin
  9. root — of a word
  10. ground — a position
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. can — to be able to
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chest — a box
  17. band — a music group
  18. ground — the earth
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. race — a contest
  23. root — the cause
  24. ground — crushed

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