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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. tube — a container
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stock — goods
  6. tube — the underground
  7. can — a tin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. stock — shares
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spring — of water
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. can — a tin
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — letters
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — 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