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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fall — the season
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. court — for sport
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cold — an illness
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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