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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cold — not warm
  8. current — of water
  9. cap — a lid
  10. spell — magic
  11. last — finally
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. current — happening now
  17. spell — letters
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — electric
  22. bear — the animal
  23. last — final
  24. bear — to put up with

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