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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rash — a series
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bound — certain
  11. game — wild animals
  12. perch — the fish
  13. rash — hasty
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cap — a hat
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cap — of ice

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