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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 116 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — of water
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. pop — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pop — soda
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pop — to visit
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. shower — rain
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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