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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bound — obliged
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bound — tied together
  10. kid — child
  11. bound — certain
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. spell — a short time
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rash — a series
  19. spell — magic
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. spell — letters
  24. wake — a trail

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