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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: band · court · race · lie · bass · object · pop · pitcher

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. court — of law
  4. object — an aim
  5. band — a ring
  6. pop — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. race — a contest
  9. court — of a king
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bass — low music
  14. race — humankind
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — to protest
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pop — soda
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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