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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 · straw · coach · race · kick · plane · pit · mouse

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. race — humankind
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. plane — a tool
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pit — a hole
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pit — in a race
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — child
  22. race — the arms race
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. coach — a trainer

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