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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 · rule · wave · race · shower · kick · court · root

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kick — in football
  5. race — a contest
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. shower — to wash
  8. root — of a word
  9. race — humankind
  10. court — for sport
  11. root — of a plant
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. court — of law
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. root — the cause
  22. shower — rain
  23. race — the arms race
  24. court — of a king

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