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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kick — in football
  3. race — a contest
  4. mark — a grade
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. drill — army training
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mark — a trace
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. kid — child
  17. race — humankind
  18. tube — a container
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. race — the arms race
  24. tube — in a tire

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