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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: race · court · jam · cold · bass · bear · ruler · fall

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. fall — the season
  8. race — the arms race
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. court — of a king
  11. cold — not warm
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. bass — the fish
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — low music
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bear — the animal

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