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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: stem · court · bore · club · kid · track · last · safe

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — to come from
  4. kid — to tease
  5. track — a path
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. court — for sport
  8. bore — to drill
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. track — to keep track
  11. court — of law
  12. bore — to tire
  13. club — for dancing
  14. court — of a king
  15. track — a song
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. kid — child
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — a group
  20. last — finally
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. last — final
  24. stem — of a plant

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