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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — to rip
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — to tease
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. kid — child
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. content — the amount
  14. firm — steady
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — an illness
  21. firm — decided
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. patient — a sick person

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