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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. present — a gift
  4. last — to go on
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. present — there
  14. pit — a hole
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. last — final
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. present — the time now
  24. last — finally

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