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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pop — soda
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pop — music
  14. kid — child
  15. deal — to handle
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cap — a lid
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fall — to drop
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fall — the season

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