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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 120 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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bear — the animal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bat — the animal
  12. face — to confront
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. mate — to breed
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bear — the animal

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