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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. kid — child
  3. suit — to fit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — a container
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. suit — clothes
  11. cell — a phone
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cold — an illness
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. kid — to tease
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. suit — in cards
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wound — an injury

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