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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. lie — to recline
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. staff — employees
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. saw — the tool
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — not warm
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spring — of water
  13. cold — an illness
  14. spring — a coil
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spring — the season
  17. saw — the tool
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. shower — rain
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. present — there
  24. cold — the Cold War

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