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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: court · rash · mark · tear · lash · kid · ball · race

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ball — a great time
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. race — a contest
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. kid — to tease
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mark — a grade
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — humankind
  15. rash — a series
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. court — for sport
  18. rash — hasty
  19. court — of law
  20. mark — a trace
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. ball — a dance

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