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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bear — the animal
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. suit — in cards
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. suit — to fit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fall — the season
  17. cell — in biology
  18. current — happening now
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cell — a phone
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. suit — clothes
  24. cell — in a prison

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