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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. suit — to fit
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. suit — clothes
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — shares
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. kid — child
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. spring — the season
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. kid — to tease
  17. game — a match
  18. suit — in cards
  19. cold — not warm
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. stock — goods
  23. plane — a tool
  24. game — wild animals

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