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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ball — a great time
  7. club — for dancing
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cold — not warm
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. squash — to crush
  19. club — for golf
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. tear — to rip
  22. firm — a company
  23. club — a group
  24. cold — an illness

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