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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. swing — music
  7. fall — the season
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. current — happening now
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fall — to drop
  13. net — after costs
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. net — for catching
  18. kid — child
  19. current — of water
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. net — in sport
  23. current — electric
  24. swing — to play on

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