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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — a position
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. kid — to tease
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. spring — of water
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. snap — to click
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cold — an illness
  15. staff — employees
  16. spring — a coil
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. staff — a stick
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cold — not warm
  22. staff — employees
  23. spring — the season
  24. temple — a place of worship

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