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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. sharp — clever
  5. pit — a hole
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. shower — rain
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. shower — to wash
  21. lean — thin
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. hide — to keep secret

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