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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. last — final
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bear — the animal
  9. chest — a box
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bulb — for light
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. last — to go on
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bulb — for light
  20. last — finally
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cold — an illness

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