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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 116 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: race · court · club · dip · bowl · file · trunk · rash

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. race — humankind
  4. file — a tool
  5. court — of law
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rash — a series
  8. race — the arms race
  9. court — for sport
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rash — hasty
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. race — a contest
  18. court — of a king
  19. club — for golf
  20. file — a document
  21. club — a group
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. club — for dancing

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