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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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Word bank
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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: chair · cold · kid · rash · kick · bowl

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. rash — a series
  18. chair — a professorship

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