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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 water is too ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wound — an injury
  4. track — a song
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kid — to tease
  10. track — a path
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — to keep track
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lie — to recline
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wound — an injury

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