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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. prune — to trim
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bear — the animal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. net — after costs
  12. cold — not warm
  13. net — in sport
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. game — a match
  17. deal — to handle
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. net — for catching
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ruler — for measuring

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