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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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Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. mark — a trace
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mark — a grade
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cell — in biology

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