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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: band · wound · court · ball · content · race · jam · bat

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bat — the animal
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. court — of law
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. band — a music group
  13. court — for sport
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. content — happy
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. court — of a king
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a ring
  23. content — the amount
  24. ball — a round shape

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