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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rule — a law
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rule — government
  9. pop — to visit
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. prune — to trim
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pop — soda
  17. prune — to trim
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pop — music
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. dip — to sink
  24. rule — to rule out

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