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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: court · straw · chest · mouse · race · band · content · bay

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. race — the arms race
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. court — for sport
  6. race — a contest
  7. band — a ring
  8. chest — of your body
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. race — humankind
  11. band — a music group
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. chest — a box
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. court — of law
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. court — of a king
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. content — happy

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