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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. suit — clothes
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. shower — to wash
  10. track — to keep track
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. bear — the animal
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. track — a path
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. key — the most important part
  20. kid — to tease
  21. suit — to fit
  22. track — a song
  23. kid — child
  24. shower — rain

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