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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: kid · game · chest · bass · calf · race · cell · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cell — in biology
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — of your body
  12. race — a contest
  13. bass — the fish
  14. chest — a box
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. kid — to tease
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kid — child
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rule — a law
  24. bass — low music

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