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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. spell — magic
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. cue — for pool
  9. spell — a short time
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cue — a hint
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spell — letters
  17. cold — not warm
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cue — a signal
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cell — in biology
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. dip — to dunk

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