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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. staff — employees
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cold — an illness
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. lie — to recline
  12. staff — employees
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. staff — a stick
  15. spring — the season
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. craft — boats
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. shower — rain
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — to wash
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. craft — a skill

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