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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: rule · kick · season · game · race · kid · deal · field

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. season — in sport
  3. rule — government
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. race — the arms race
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. race — humankind
  10. kid — child
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. rule — a law
  13. field — a subject
  14. season — of the year
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. deal — to handle
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. game — a match
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. game — wild animals

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