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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: chair · race · court · safe · craft · band · degree · shower

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. race — humankind
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. craft — a skill
  6. shower — rain
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chair — a leader
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. shower — to wash
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. craft — boats
  20. band — a music group
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. race — a contest
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. chair — a professorship

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