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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. season — of the year
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chip — to eat
  16. season — in sport
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chip — for betting
  21. bear — the animal
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. safe — out of danger

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