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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. file — a tool
  4. bear — the animal
  5. staff — a stick
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. row — a line
  11. cue — a hint
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pound — a weight
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. cue — for pool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. file — a document
  22. cue — a signal
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cold — not warm

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