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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. ball — a dance
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of law
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. court — for sport
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. kid — child
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — of a king
  21. current — electric
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ball — a great time

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