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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 124 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. capital — money
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cell — a phone
  12. vault — a safe
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — an illness
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. capital — a city
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wax — to grow

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