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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bear — the animal
  4. roll — a cake
  5. swing — in golf
  6. spell — letters
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cap — a lid
  9. game — a match
  10. swing — to play on
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cap — a hat
  13. swing — music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — a price
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. game — wild animals
  19. charge — electricity
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spell — magic
  22. roll — a list
  23. wind — moving air
  24. roll — on a roll

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