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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rest — what's left
  4. band — a ring
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rest — a break
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cold — an illness
  12. court — of a king
  13. root — of a plant
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. band — a music group
  20. court — of law
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. rest — what's left
  24. court — for sport

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