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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 · suit · cold · jam · lash · bear · mine · file

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. kid — child
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. suit — in cards
  8. kid — to tease
  9. suit — to fit
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. file — a document
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. file — a tool
  18. suit — clothes
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bear — the animal
  24. file — a line of people

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