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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: court · season · ground · row · race · hand · wave · tear

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. court — of a king
  4. season — in sport
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. race — a contest
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. tear — from crying
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. ground — a position
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hand — in cards
  19. court — for sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. ground — crushed
  22. court — of law
  23. race — humankind
  24. hand — help

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