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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bear — the animal
  4. row — a line
  5. rest — a break
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. current — electric
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spell — magic
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. spring — of water
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — a coil
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — of water
  22. current — happening now
  23. spring — the season
  24. mouse — for a computer

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