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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: present · kid · ruler · race · bound · pit

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bound — certain
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. pit — a hole
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bound — obliged
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. race — humankind
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bound — tied together
  14. present — there
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. race — a contest
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pit — in a race

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