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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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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. bear — the animal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. can — a tin
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — a face
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cold — not warm
  21. capital — money
  22. mug — to rob
  23. can — a tin
  24. cold — the Cold War

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