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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ball — a dance
  3. mate — to breed
  4. kid — to tease
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wind — moving air
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. bear — the animal
  12. band — a ring
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. band — a music group
  20. mate — a partner
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — child
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wind — moving air

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