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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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Word bank
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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 · spell · deal · fall · wake · mouse · spring · wave

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spring — of water
  3. spell — letters
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. spell — magic
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. deal — to handle
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. fall — the season
  13. spring — the season
  14. wake — a trail
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spell — a short time
  20. fall — to drop
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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