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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: rash · shower · chip · sharp · race · wake · present · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chip — to eat
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. race — humankind
  5. rash — hasty
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. court — of law
  8. race — the arms race
  9. present — a gift
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — a trail
  12. chip — for betting
  13. shower — to wash
  14. court — for sport
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. shower — rain
  20. present — the time now
  21. sharp — clever
  22. rash — a series
  23. race — a contest
  24. present — there

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