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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. suit — clothes
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. suit — in cards
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rest — what's left
  16. suit — to fit
  17. object — an aim
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. object — to protest
  20. rest — a break
  21. spring — of water
  22. rest — what's left
  23. object — a thing
  24. bat — in an idiom

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