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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. swing — music
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. file — a document
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wind — moving air
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. squash — the sport
  20. swing — to play on
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — to crush
  24. swing — in golf

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