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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 116 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: nail · kid · race · bat · staff · mug · court · mine

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. court — for sport
  8. mug — a face
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. staff — employees
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. kid — child
  19. mug — to rob
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. staff — a stick

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