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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — a position
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bear — the animal
  11. fall — the season
  12. bear — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. ground — crushed
  16. spring — of water
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cold — an illness
  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