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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bear — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. staff — employees
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cold — not warm
  13. staff — employees
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. fall — the season
  16. bear — the animal
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fall — to drop

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