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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bear — the animal
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rash — a series
  7. dip — to sink
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kid — child
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. 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