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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · stock · kid · toast · ball · suit · rash · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. suit — to fit
  3. ball — a dance
  4. stock — shares
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stock — goods
  14. suit — in cards
  15. kid — child
  16. suit — clothes
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cold — an illness

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