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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spell — a short time
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. spell — letters
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. branch — a division
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cell — a phone
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rock — music
  22. hand — help
  23. spell — magic
  24. bear — the animal

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