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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. court — for sport
  4. toast — bread
  5. bear — the animal
  6. last — finally
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. last — final
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — to go on
  13. court — of a king
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. bound — certain
  17. cold — not warm
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. court — of law
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. bear — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — 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