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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: tube · race · ground · bat · object · court · rest · roll

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. roll — a cake
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. race — the arms race
  5. court — of a king
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rest — a break
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ground — the earth
  10. roll — a list
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — to protest
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — a contest
  18. court — for sport
  19. ground — crushed
  20. race — humankind
  21. court — of law
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. ground — a position

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