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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: court · file · last · cold · kick · mark · safe · kid

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cold — not warm
  3. file — a tool
  4. last — to go on
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. last — finally
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. file — a document
  9. kid — to tease
  10. file — a line of people
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. court — for sport
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. last — final
  16. court — of a king
  17. mark — a grade
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. court — of law
  20. kid — child
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cold — an illness
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. mark — a trace

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