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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. game — a match
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bear — the animal
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. wake — a trail
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rash — a series
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cold — an illness
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — not warm

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