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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 chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kid — to tease
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. race — humankind
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. race — a contest
  14. present — a gift
  15. pop — music
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. present — there
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. present — the time now
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. snap — to click

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