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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. content — happy
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bank — for money
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. content — the amount
  20. bank — for money
  21. kick — in football
  22. squash — to crush
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wound — an injury

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