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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. vault — a safe
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. kid — child
  8. rash — hasty
  9. snap — to click
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. row — a line
  13. cap — a hat
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lean — thin
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cap — of ice
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rash — a series
  24. lean — to bend

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