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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 · cap · mouse · race · chair · tear · ball · bay

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. ball — a great time
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cap — of ice
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kid — child
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cap — a hat
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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