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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — child
  7. pop — soda
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pop — music
  14. content — happy
  15. roll — a list
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bulb — for light
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cold — not warm
  22. roll — a cake
  23. content — the amount
  24. cold — the Cold War

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