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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 120 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: race · bat · firm · season · nail · craft · court · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. court — for sport
  3. season — in sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. craft — a skill
  6. race — the arms race
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. firm — decided
  13. ground — crushed
  14. season — of the year
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. firm — steady
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. firm — a company
  24. season — to add flavour

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