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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. row — a line
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cold — not warm
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. mug — a cup

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