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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 · bore · file · cold · pop · stick · club · jam

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. file — a document
  9. club — a group
  10. pop — to visit
  11. club — for golf
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bore — to tire
  19. pop — soda
  20. file — a tool
  21. club — for dancing
  22. kid — child
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pop — music

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