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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. charge — electricity
  3. firm — steady
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. firm — a company
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cold — an illness
  10. drill — a practice
  11. stock — shares
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kid — child
  14. stock — goods
  15. firm — decided
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — in control
  20. cap — of ice
  21. snap — to click
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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