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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: ball · court · game · race · mug · firm · racket · spell

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — letters
  4. mug — a face
  5. ball — a great time
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a cup
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. firm — a company
  11. court — of a king
  12. firm — steady
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — magic
  16. race — a contest
  17. ball — a dance
  18. spell — a short time
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. firm — decided
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. court — for sport

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