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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 116 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: rash · cap · march · kid · hide · mine · race · calf

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cap — of ice
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cap — a lid
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. race — humankind
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cap — a hat
  11. kid — to tease
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. race — a contest
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mine — for digging
  19. march — the month
  20. rash — a series
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. mine — belonging to me

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