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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — not warm
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. kid — to tease
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cap — a hat
  12. prune — to trim
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. tube — a container
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cold — an illness
  18. safe — out of danger

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