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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rash — a series
  3. ball — a dance
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. board — a committee
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ball — a great time
  17. sharp — clever
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. board — to get on
  22. rash — hasty
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cold — an illness

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