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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bear — the animal
  3. craft — boats
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. craft — a skill
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. band — a ring
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bear — the animal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. saw — the tool
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. band — a music group
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cold — an illness

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