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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. race — humankind
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. cold — not warm
  8. file — a tool
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. race — a contest
  12. court — of law
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. file — a document
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. file — a line of people
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. deal — to handle
  19. court — for sport
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bear — the animal
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. court — of a king
  24. race — the arms race

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