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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. last — finally
  5. net — after costs
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. mug — a cup
  8. bound — certain
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. shower — rain
  11. mug — a face
  12. net — for catching
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — final
  16. net — in sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cold — an illness
  20. shower — to wash
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bound — obliged
  23. last — to go on
  24. mug — to rob

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