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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: deal · kid · court · rush · key · safe · chest · row

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kid — child
  4. row — a line
  5. court — of law
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rush — hurry
  10. kid — to tease
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. row — to paddle
  15. key — for a lock
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. court — of a king
  18. key — the most important part
  19. chest — of your body
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. chest — a box
  22. court — for sport
  23. key — in music
  24. deal — a big deal

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