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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — humankind
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fall — to drop
  10. net — after costs
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. present — there
  13. net — for catching
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pit — in a race
  19. present — the time now
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. present — a gift
  22. bear — the animal
  23. net — in sport
  24. fall — the season

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