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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 116 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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Word bank
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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. deal — to handle
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pass — a permit
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. band — a music group
  15. bear — the animal
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. snap — to click
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. band — a ring
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bore — to tire
  23. deal — an agreement
  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