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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 a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fork — in a road
  3. swing — to play on
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bore — to tire
  6. swing — in golf
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. race — humankind
  14. swing — music
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. kid — child
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. pound — for dogs

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