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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cold — an illness
  3. foot — a measure
  4. last — to go on
  5. suit — to fit
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. suit — in cards
  8. last — final
  9. suit — clothes
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. kid — child
  12. last — finally
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spring — of water
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. spring — the season
  24. ruler — for measuring

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