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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. land — ground
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. land — to come down
  9. spring — the season
  10. dip — to sink
  11. spring — a coil
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. mate — a partner
  16. spring — of water
  17. land — a country
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. kid — to tease
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. mate — to breed

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