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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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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: rash · net · row · court · spring · race · object · sharp

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. object — an aim
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. court — for sport
  5. object — a thing
  6. spring — of water
  7. court — of a king
  8. spring — the season
  9. race — humankind
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — the arms race
  12. net — for catching
  13. row — a line
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. net — after costs
  17. object — to protest
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. sharp — clever
  20. net — in sport
  21. court — of law
  22. rash — a series
  23. race — a contest
  24. rash — hasty

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