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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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. firm — decided
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bass — low music
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — an illness
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pit — a hole
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — steady
  14. march — the month
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. march — music
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rule — a law
  23. kid — child
  24. bass — the fish

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