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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. squash — to crush
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. kid — child
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. game — wild animals
  12. squash — the sport
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. dip — to sink
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. game — a match
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. chair — a leader
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. ruler — a monarch

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