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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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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: kid · bay · row · court · bass · nail · race · rest

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — child
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rest — what's left
  6. court — of law
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. court — of a king
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. race — a contest
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. race — the arms race
  23. row — a line
  24. race — humankind

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