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

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cap — a hat
  6. ball — a great time
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cap — a lid
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kid — child
  17. pass — a permit
  18. ball — a round shape

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