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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: court · hide · season · ground · wake · race · kid · key

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. court — for sport
  4. kid — child
  5. court — of a king
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. race — humankind
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. ground — crushed
  15. key — for a lock
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. court — of law
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. season — in sport
  20. key — in music
  21. race — the arms race
  22. kid — to tease
  23. race — a contest
  24. season — to add flavour

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