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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cold — not warm
  3. last — final
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. last — finally
  8. cell — in biology
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. deal — to handle
  24. last — to go on

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