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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bound — certain
  9. kid — to tease
  10. band — a music group
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bound — obliged
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a ring
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bound — tied together

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