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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — to bear
  13. chest — a box
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. pass — a permit
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. chest — of your body
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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