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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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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: bass · race · capital · snap · jam · dip · bore · court

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. court — of law
  3. bore — to tire
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. race — a contest
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. race — humankind
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. court — for sport
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. court — of a king
  14. capital — a city
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bass — low music
  19. race — the arms race
  20. capital — money
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bore — to drill
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. capital — a big letter

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