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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: calf · court · rest · kick · chair · band · hand · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. court — of a king
  3. rest — a break
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kick — in football
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. band — a music group
  11. court — of law
  12. band — a ring
  13. hand — help
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. race — a contest
  16. court — for sport
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. race — humankind
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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