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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. kid — child
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. swing — to play on
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. fork — in a road
  11. swing — music
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bear — the animal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bear — the animal

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