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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. cap — of ice
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cap — a hat
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — of water
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wake — a trail
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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