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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rash — hasty
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. rash — a series
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. cold — an illness
  8. squash — to crush
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. squash — the sport
  11. content — happy
  12. kid — child
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cold — not warm
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. content — the amount
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. rash — on the skin
  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