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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — there
  5. rock — a stone
  6. mark — a trace
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bat — the animal
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rock — music
  22. present — a gift
  23. mark — a grade
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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