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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. kid — child
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a cup
  5. scale — size or range
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. scale — in music
  8. board — a committee
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mug — a face
  11. ball — a dance
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cold — an illness
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. board — to get on
  21. snap — to click
  22. kid — to tease
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a great time

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