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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. spring — of water
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spring — a coil
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cue — for pool
  24. rash — a series

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