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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. suit — in cards
  3. season — in sport
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. pop — soda
  12. suit — clothes
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pop — to visit
  16. season — of the year
  17. pop — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. suit — to fit
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. kid — to tease

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