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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 116 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ground — crushed
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. tube — the underground
  9. current — electric
  10. current — of water
  11. kid — child
  12. march — the month
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. current — happening now
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kid — to tease
  24. tube — a container

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