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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — a series
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ground — a position
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rash — hasty
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. game — a match
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — the month
  18. kid — to tease
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. ground — crushed
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. march — music
  24. wake — a trail

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