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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mark — a trace
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. saw — the tool
  18. date — the fruit
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — child
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fan — a supporter

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