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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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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: race · season · present · charge · game · kid · court · mouse

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. present — there
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. court — for sport
  6. present — a gift
  7. charge — a price
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. present — the time now
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. game — a match
  13. race — humankind
  14. season — in sport
  15. court — of law
  16. race — the arms race
  17. charge — in control
  18. race — a contest
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. court — of a king
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. charge — electricity
  24. kid — to tease

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