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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. pit — a hole
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mug — a cup
  5. kid — child
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. mug — a face
  15. cold — an illness
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pit — in a race
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mug — to rob
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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