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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. suit — to fit
  7. field — a subject
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. game — a match
  12. suit — clothes
  13. cell — in biology
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. suit — in cards
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cold — not warm
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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