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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spring — of water
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bear — the animal
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mark — a grade
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — the season
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — an illness

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