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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. staff — employees
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — the amount
  8. rash — a series
  9. staff — a stick
  10. rule — government
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rule — a law
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. foot — a measure
  17. content — happy
  18. rash — hasty
  19. staff — employees
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. jam — in traffic

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