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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tube — a container
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rule — a law
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. kid — child
  12. tube — the underground
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rule — government
  21. cold — an illness
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — a tight spot

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