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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mate — a friend
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mate — to breed
  8. roll — a cake
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. mate — a partner
  12. charge — in control
  13. foot — a measure
  14. sharp — clever
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. charge — a price
  18. kid — child
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kid — to tease
  21. charge — electricity
  22. shower — rain
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. foot — the bottom

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