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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 120 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 chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. band — a music group
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. firm — steady
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. firm — a company
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pop — music
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — an illness
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. band — a ring
  16. firm — decided
  17. kid — to tease
  18. track — a song
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. track — a path
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. track — to keep track

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