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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 · race · charge · wave · wound · firm · jam · roll

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. firm — decided
  3. firm — a company
  4. court — for sport
  5. firm — steady
  6. charge — electricity
  7. court — of law
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — a list
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. race — the arms race
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. charge — a price
  18. race — a contest
  19. court — of a king
  20. charge — in control
  21. race — humankind
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. jam — a tight spot

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