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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 120 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: court · kick · sharp · ground · fan · race · cap · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. court — of law
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cap — a hat
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. track — a song
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. court — for sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. kick — in football
  19. race — humankind
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. court — of a king
  22. cap — a lid
  23. track — a path
  24. ground — a position

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