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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — to cut
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. ground — a position
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. clip — a video
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. net — in sport
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. net — for catching
  21. ground — the earth
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. ground — crushed
  24. net — after costs

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