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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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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: object · lean · content · race · court · cell · band · rash

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. content — the amount
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cell — in biology
  5. object — a thing
  6. race — humankind
  7. court — of a king
  8. race — the arms race
  9. lean — thin
  10. band — a ring
  11. race — a contest
  12. lean — to bend
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. court — for sport
  17. object — to protest
  18. cell — a phone
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. content — happy
  21. court — of law
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. band — a music group
  24. cell — in a prison

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