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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. firm — decided
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mate — a partner
  7. scale — size or range
  8. firm — a company
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. present — a gift
  11. shower — rain
  12. present — the time now
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — in music
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mate — to breed
  21. firm — steady
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kid — child
  24. bear — the animal

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