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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. court — for sport
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pit — a hole
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. race — humankind
  9. net — after costs
  10. pit — in a race
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. court — of law
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kid — child
  20. court — of a king
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. race — a contest

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