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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 120 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pop — to visit
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bear — the animal
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cold — not warm
  10. squash — the sport
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. shower — rain
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pop — music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. squash — to crush
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pop — soda

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