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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: race · pop · court · fan · content · bay · fine · cell

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pop — to visit
  4. content — happy
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. court — of law
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pop — music
  15. court — for sport
  16. content — the amount
  17. pop — soda
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. court — of a king
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — all right
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. race — the arms race

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