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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spring — of water
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bear — the animal
  14. content — the amount
  15. rule — government
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rule — a law
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fall — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spring — the season
  24. content — happy

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