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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 · race · court · stem · hand · kick

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. present — there
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. hand — in cards
  14. race — the arms race
  15. court — of a king
  16. present — a gift
  17. present — the time now
  18. race — humankind

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