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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: saw · kid · content · rule · bowl · root · cold · lean

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. lean — thin
  4. rule — government
  5. root — of a plant
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lean — to bend
  8. content — the amount
  9. saw — the tool
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cold — an illness
  12. root — the cause
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — happy
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rule — a law
  18. root — of a word
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — a dish

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