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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.

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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stand — to bear
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spell — letters
  5. face — to point toward
  6. spell — magic
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. row — to paddle
  14. face — to confront
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kid — child
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. spell — a short time
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. kid — to tease

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