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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: hand · pitcher · deal · bowl · race · rash · dip · court

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. court — of a king
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. dip — to sink
  6. rash — a series
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rash — hasty
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. court — for sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. court — of law
  16. race — a contest
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hand — help
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. deal — to handle
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. hand — in cards

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