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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: race · mine · key · bank · bat · kid · kick · staff

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bank — of a river
  3. kick — in football
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. staff — employees
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. staff — a stick
  14. key — in music
  15. staff — employees
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bank — for money
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bank — for money
  23. key — for a lock
  24. kick — with a leg

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