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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 chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. swing — music
  3. cold — an illness
  4. can — a tin
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. can — to be able to
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rash — a series
  17. can — a tin
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rash — hasty
  20. pit — in a race
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pit — a hole

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