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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 124 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. content — the amount
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spell — letters
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. cold — not warm
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. squash — the sport
  15. spell — a short time
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bank — for money
  19. content — happy
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bat — the animal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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