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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'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bank — for money
  3. net — after costs
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — rain
  6. net — in sport
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bear — the animal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cold — an illness
  12. net — for catching
  13. bank — of a river
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bear — the animal
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rash — a series
  21. bank — for money
  22. rash — hasty
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bear — to put up with

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