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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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spell — letters
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spell — magic
  7. kick — in football
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fall — the season
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bear — to put up with

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