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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bark — to shout
  5. court — of law
  6. race — humankind
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. race — a contest
  11. rash — a series
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. kid — child
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pit — in a race
  19. kid — to tease
  20. court — of a king
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wind — to turn a key

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