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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. kid — child
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — not warm
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fork — in a road
  12. kid — to tease
  13. charge — in control
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wake — a trail
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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