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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. land — ground
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cap — a hat
  5. rock — a stone
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. land — a country
  8. cap — of ice
  9. rock — music
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. land — to come down
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cap — a lid
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. capital — money
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rock — to move gently

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