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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. suit — clothes
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. suit — in cards
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chest — a box
  14. suit — to fit
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — moving air

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