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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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Word bank
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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: mug · kid · chip · race · roll · board · rash · wound

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mug — a face
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mug — a cup
  13. roll — a list
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chip — for betting
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. roll — a cake
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. rash — hasty
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. mug — to rob

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