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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. race — a contest
  3. spell — letters
  4. race — the arms race
  5. face — to confront
  6. game — a match
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spell — magic
  9. face — part of the head
  10. ball — a dance
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. band — a ring
  14. stand — to bear
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. race — humankind
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kid — to tease
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spell — a short time
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. ball — a great time
  24. band — a music group

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