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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cold — an illness
  5. row — to paddle
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. file — a tool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — for sport
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. court — of law
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. court — of a king
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bound — certain

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