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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bear — the animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. fall — the season
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. hide — to keep secret

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