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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spell — magic
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. present — the time now
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. spell — letters
  22. present — a gift
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. present — there

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