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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — an illness
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. land — a country
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. degree — an amount
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. land — ground
  18. shower — rain
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. land — to come down
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bear — the animal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. shower — to wash

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