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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cap — of ice
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. ball — a great time
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mark — a trace
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cap — a hat
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ground — crushed
  22. swing — music
  23. ground — a position
  24. ball — a dance

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