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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. kid — child
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spell — letters
  10. snap — to click
  11. spell — magic
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bulb — for light
  17. spell — a short time
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. kid — to tease
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitcher — a jug

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