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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mark — a grade
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. kid — to tease
  5. race — humankind
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. present — there
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mark — a trace
  12. present — the time now
  13. race — a contest
  14. court — of law
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. present — a gift
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wound — an injury
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. court — of a king
  21. race — the arms race
  22. court — for sport
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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