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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: season · deal · content · saw · court · rock · pitcher · race

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. race — the arms race
  5. court — of a king
  6. rock — a stone
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — of the year
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rock — music
  11. content — the amount
  12. deal — to handle
  13. race — humankind
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. court — for sport
  21. season — in sport
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of law
  24. saw — the tool

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