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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: cold · court · racket · rest · bound · cue · race · branch

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. court — of a king
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bound — obliged
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cue — a signal
  7. bound — tied together
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. court — for sport
  13. rest — a break
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cue — a hint
  17. court — of law
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bound — certain
  22. cue — for pool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. branch — of a tree

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