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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: kick · race · cabinet · track · kid · tube · bear · present

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tube — a container
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. race — a contest
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tube — the underground
  8. track — a path
  9. kick — in football
  10. track — to keep track
  11. present — the time now
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. race — the arms race
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. track — a song
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. race — humankind

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