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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bear — the animal
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. spell — letters
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cold — not warm
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. squash — to crush
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spell — magic
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. squash — the sport

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