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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: pitcher · bear · racket · rest · toast · court · race · cell

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cell — in biology
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. court — of law
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — bread
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rest — a break
  17. cell — a phone
  18. race — a contest
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. court — of a king
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rest — what's left
  24. race — humankind

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