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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spell — letters
  3. march — music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — an illness
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. spell — magic
  9. stock — goods
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stock — shares
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kid — child
  21. march — the month
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rash — a series

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