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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: pitcher · ground · racket · rash · race · cabinet · bat · court

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. ground — a position
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. race — the arms race
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. court — of a king
  9. race — humankind
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — of law
  15. rash — a series
  16. court — for sport
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. race — a contest
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — in an idiom

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