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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. tear — to rip
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — magic
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. ball — a dance
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pop — soda
  23. spell — letters
  24. pop — music

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