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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: kid · fine · lie · lean · march · race · cold · jam

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. kid — child
  4. march — the month
  5. fine — high quality
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. race — humankind
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fine — all right
  14. lean — to bend
  15. march — music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. lean — thin
  20. march — the month
  21. race — a contest
  22. cold — an illness
  23. lie — to recline
  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