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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: sharp · key · lean · kid · court · cap · game · wind

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. game — a match
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. court — of a king
  6. key — in music
  7. cap — of ice
  8. key — for a lock
  9. sharp — clever
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — child
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. key — the most important part
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. court — of law
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. cap — a lid
  23. kid — to tease
  24. sharp — with an edge

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