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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bound — certain
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bound — obliged
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. shower — rain
  11. deal — to handle
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — a friend
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. kick — in football
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. shower — to wash

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