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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. mate — to breed
  4. band — a music group
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. sharp — clever
  7. stock — shares
  8. mate — a friend
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cold — an illness
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. band — a ring
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — not warm
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mate — a partner
  22. stock — goods
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rash — a series

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