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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: race · sharp · pound · fan · court · club · bore · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. race — humankind
  7. bore — to drill
  8. club — a group
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. court — of law
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. court — of a king
  16. sharp — clever
  17. court — for sport
  18. rash — a series
  19. club — for golf
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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