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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cold — not warm
  7. charge — a price
  8. field — a subject
  9. charge — electricity
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. ball — a dance
  12. land — to come down
  13. charge — in control
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — for sport
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. field — farmland
  20. land — ground
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. land — a country
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. 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