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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: bear · chest · present · roll · wind · spell · mark · mate

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mate — a friend
  5. roll — a list
  6. mate — a partner
  7. present — the time now
  8. roll — a cake
  9. chest — a box
  10. spell — a short time
  11. mate — to breed
  12. spell — letters
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spell — magic
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. present — a gift
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bear — to put up with

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