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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cue — for pool
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. kid — child
  17. field — a subject
  18. cue — a signal
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. deal — to handle

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