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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 · pass · row · pitcher · fan · toast · race · rule

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. race — a contest
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pass — a permit
  5. toast — bread
  6. race — humankind
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. court — of law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — a law
  13. court — of a king
  14. race — the arms race
  15. row — a line
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. court — for sport
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. rule — government

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