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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: rock · pitcher · race · court · bass · rash · net · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. race — humankind
  3. bass — low music
  4. rash — a series
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. race — the arms race
  12. court — of law
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rock — music
  18. net — for catching
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bass — the fish
  21. net — after costs
  22. race — a contest
  23. net — in sport
  24. court — for sport

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