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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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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: deal · court · current · rash · race · spring · club · chair

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. current — happening now
  3. club — a group
  4. deal — to handle
  5. spring — the season
  6. court — for sport
  7. club — for dancing
  8. race — humankind
  9. court — of a king
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. current — electric
  16. rash — a series
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. club — for golf
  21. spring — of water
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. current — of water
  24. court — of law

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