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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. staff — a stick
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — in a race
  16. chest — a box
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pit — a hole
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bear — the animal

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