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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 120 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 a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spring — the season
  3. kid — child
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. pass — a permit
  6. kid — to tease
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. spring — of water
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. suit — to fit
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. suit — in cards
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lean — thin
  21. suit — clothes
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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