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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — of law
  4. race — the arms race
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. court — of a king
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kid — child
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. race — a contest
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. race — humankind
  21. court — for sport
  22. lean — thin
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

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