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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bulb — for light
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bat — the animal
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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