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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 · stand · court · clip · chair · rush · pitcher · date

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. date — the fruit
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chair — a leader
  11. race — a contest
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — a video
  16. court — of law
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pitcher — a jug

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