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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · pass · chest · bear · wind · drill

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bear — the animal
  3. chest — a box
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. drill — army training
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cold — an illness

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