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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · bear · mate · cold · spring · row · net · fan

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — in sport
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mate — a friend
  7. spring — of water
  8. net — after costs
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mate — a partner
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mate — to breed
  19. row — a line
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. racket — for tennis

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