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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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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: bay · rash · court · rush · race · cap · kid · content

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. content — the amount
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rash — a series
  9. race — the arms race
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. kid — child
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cap — a lid
  16. content — happy
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. race — humankind
  20. court — of law
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. race — a contest
  24. rush — a thrill

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