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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. spring — the season
  4. spell — letters
  5. rule — government
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. capital — a city
  11. spring — of water
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. capital — money
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. spell — magic
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rule — a law
  24. wave — with your hand

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