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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: net · court · straw · stand · date · bass · press · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. court — of a king
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bass — low music
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. press — to push
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. press — a publisher
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bass — the fish
  17. court — of law
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. race — humankind
  20. press — newspapers
  21. net — in sport
  22. court — for sport
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. race — the arms race

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