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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. hand — help
  3. stock — goods
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cold — not warm
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bulb — for light
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stock — shares
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bulb — for light
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — an illness
  24. prune — the fruit

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