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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. cap — a lid
  8. craft — boats
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. can — a tin
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. can — a tin
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. kid — child
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. can — to be able to
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cold — not warm

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