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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bank — of a river
  5. mug — a face
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mug — a cup
  8. spell — a short time
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mug — to rob
  15. bank — for money
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bank — for money
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spell — letters
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. spell — magic
  23. clip — a video
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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