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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. pop — to visit
  5. net — after costs
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. race — a contest
  9. net — for catching
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. pop — music
  14. net — in sport
  15. pop — soda
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. rash — hasty

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