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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: bass · race · object · racket · shower · straw · ground · court

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. ground — crushed
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. bass — low music
  8. object — a thing
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. race — a contest
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. race — the arms race
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. object — to protest
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — the earth
  18. race — humankind
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ground — a position
  23. bass — the fish
  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