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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 water is too ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spring — the season
  4. spell — magic
  5. suit — in cards
  6. face — to point toward
  7. spell — letters
  8. can — a tin
  9. spring — of water
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. suit — clothes
  12. face — to confront
  13. spring — a coil
  14. can — to be able to
  15. band — a music group
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. suit — to fit
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. spell — a short time
  23. band — a ring
  24. can — a tin

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