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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — of law
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — for sport
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — the sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — the tool
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rash — hasty
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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