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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: arm · cue · last · bear · cold · kid · object · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cold — an illness
  4. object — to protest
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. can — a tin
  8. object — an aim
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cue — a hint
  11. last — finally
  12. bear — the animal
  13. can — a tin
  14. last — to go on
  15. kid — child
  16. bear — the animal
  17. object — a thing
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cold — not warm
  22. last — final
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cue — a signal

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