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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. charge — electricity
  6. scale — in music
  7. charge — in control
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. charge — a price
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — size or range
  19. kid — child
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. straw — dry grass

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