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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: kid · wind · band · row · kick · jam · race · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. row — a line
  3. kick — in football
  4. race — a contest
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. race — humankind
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. kid — child
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kid — to tease
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wind — moving air
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. race — the arms race
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a music group
  24. jam — a tight spot

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