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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · kid · rush · ground · bowl · tear

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. kid — child
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rush — hurry
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. race — humankind
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ground — the earth
  17. race — the arms race
  18. tear — from crying

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