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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. kid — child
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. game — wild animals
  6. plane — a tool
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bound — obliged
  13. rule — government
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rule — a law
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — to tease
  19. ground — crushed
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. race — humankind
  22. ground — a position
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ground — the earth

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