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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 120 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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. chest — a box
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spring — a coil
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spring — of water

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