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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. kid — child
  4. race — a contest
  5. court — of a king
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. ground — crushed
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ground — a position
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. race — humankind
  15. court — of law
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. ground — the earth
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. court — for sport
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. chair — a leader

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