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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ground — a position
  3. suit — to fit
  4. suit — clothes
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cold — not warm
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. suit — in cards
  10. ground — crushed
  11. scale — in music
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kid — child
  21. chair — a leader
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wind — moving air

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