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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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 — to put up with
  2. hand — help
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hand — in cards
  7. dip — to sink
  8. tube — a container
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wake — a trail
  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