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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: race · row · court · chip · bat · drill · patient · racket

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. drill — army training
  3. race — a contest
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. court — of a king
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chip — to eat
  8. row — to paddle
  9. court — for sport
  10. chip — for betting
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. court — of law
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. race — humankind
  21. drill — a practice
  22. row — a line
  23. drill — the tool
  24. row — a quarrel

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