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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — magic
  3. key — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pass — a permit
  13. key — for a lock
  14. spell — letters
  15. snap — to click
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. cap — a lid
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bear — the animal
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bear — to put up with

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