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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lean — thin
  3. bound — certain
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — to bend
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. kid — to tease
  8. last — finally
  9. swing — in golf
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. kid — child
  12. last — final
  13. swing — music
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. last — to go on
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. swing — to play on
  21. dip — to sink
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mine — belonging to me

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