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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fine — all right
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fine — high quality
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fine — a penalty

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