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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: last · spring · rest · bear · wake · chest · wind · mate

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. last — finally
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spring — of water
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. spring — the season
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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