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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. kid — to tease
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. race — a contest
  11. track — a song
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. drill — a practice
  15. game — wild animals
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. game — a match
  19. chair — a leader
  20. race — humankind
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. drill — the tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. drill — army training

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