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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. suit — clothes
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — an illness
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cell — in biology
  8. clip — a video
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. kid — child
  17. track — a song
  18. suit — in cards
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cell — a phone
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. track — a path

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