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

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. game — a match
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. kid — child
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pitch — completely
  12. race — humankind
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. drill — army training
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. game — wild animals
  17. drill — a practice
  18. kid — to tease

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