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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. spell — a short time
  4. field — for sport
  5. spell — magic
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. capital — money
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. firm — steady
  13. capital — a city
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — hurry
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bear — the animal
  21. firm — decided
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spell — letters
  24. firm — a company

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