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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. kid — child
  4. cold — an illness
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kid — to tease
  8. object — an aim
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pop — soda
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. object — a thing
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cold — not warm
  21. object — to protest
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cold — the Cold War

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