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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: row · deal · race · kid · mug · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. row — a line
  3. kid — to tease
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mug — a face
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. present — the time now
  10. race — humankind
  11. present — there
  12. kid — child
  13. mug — to rob
  14. mug — a cup
  15. race — the arms race
  16. deal — to handle
  17. row — to paddle
  18. race — a contest

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