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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bulb — for light
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wound — an injury
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bulb — for light
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. kid — child
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. board — a committee
  20. cold — an illness
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. board — to get on
  23. capital — a city
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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