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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. snap — to click
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. root — of a plant
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stand — to bear
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — an illness
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. scale — in music
  24. stand — for spectators

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