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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. court — for sport
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. court — of law
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. kid — child
  9. row — a line
  10. game — a match
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. race — the arms race
  15. kid — to tease
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. race — humankind
  19. track — to keep track
  20. row — to paddle
  21. game — wild animals
  22. court — of a king
  23. race — a contest
  24. deal — to handle

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