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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — not warm
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fall — the season
  7. deal — to handle
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pound — a weight
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to click
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pound — to hit hard

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