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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: race · pass · kid · board · field · hand · date · dip

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. field — a subject
  3. pass — a permit
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. kid — to tease
  6. date — the fruit
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. race — a contest
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. board — to get on
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. kid — child
  17. field — for sport
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. race — humankind
  20. board — a committee
  21. hand — in cards
  22. field — farmland
  23. race — the arms race
  24. date — on the calendar

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