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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. net — for catching
  4. rash — hasty
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. ball — a dance
  8. rash — a series
  9. kid — to tease
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ball — a great time
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. saw — the tool
  18. press — to push
  19. press — a publisher
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. press — newspapers
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. rash — on the skin

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