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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 116 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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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. deal — a big deal
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. deal — to handle
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cell — a phone
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. cell — in biology
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. march — the month
  24. bowl — a football final

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