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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cold — an illness
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ball — a great time
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — final
  17. cold — not warm
  18. shower — rain
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. last — to go on
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. last — finally

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