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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. saw — the tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. pop — music
  8. band — a music group
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. suit — in cards
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. staff — a stick
  16. band — a ring
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. staff — employees
  21. pop — to visit
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. suit — clothes
  24. kid — child

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