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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. deal — to handle
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. game — a match
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bear — the animal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cold — an illness
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. straw — dry grass

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