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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wake — a trail
  7. court — for sport
  8. kid — child
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. court — of a king
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. march — the month
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. object — to protest
  19. court — of law
  20. object — a thing
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cold — an illness
  24. object — an aim

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