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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hand — in cards
  3. suit — to fit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — final
  6. suit — clothes
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. kid — to tease
  9. season — in sport
  10. chest — a box
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — finally
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — help
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. season — of the year
  18. suit — in cards
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. last — to go on
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cold — an illness

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