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

Word bank: fall · cap · present · kid · cold · fork · toast · rest

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rest — a break
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cap — a hat
  5. present — there
  6. cap — of ice
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. toast — bread
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. rest — what's left
  19. present — a gift
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. kid — child
  22. cap — a lid
  23. present — the time now
  24. fork — in a road

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