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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: kid · race · kick · season · rest · key

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. rest — a break
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. race — a contest
  8. season — in sport
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kick — in football
  13. kid — child
  14. key — for a lock
  15. rest — what's left
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kid — to tease

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