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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 116 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: spring · chair · race · firm · ground · ruler · court · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. firm — decided
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. ground — crushed
  8. race — humankind
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. court — of law
  12. firm — steady
  13. ground — the earth
  14. firm — a company
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. ground — a position
  24. spring — of water

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