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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chest — a box
  5. shower — rain
  6. cold — an illness
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mate — a friend
  9. charge — in control
  10. fall — the season
  11. charge — electricity
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mate — a partner
  15. suit — clothes
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. charge — a price
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — child
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. suit — in cards

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