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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. row — a line
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. cold — not warm
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. capital — a city
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. deal — to handle
  22. row — to paddle
  23. capital — money
  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