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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 116 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: bear · can · scale · cold · bay · spell · stick · mate

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. scale — size or range
  5. spell — magic
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bear — the animal
  11. can — a tin
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cold — not warm
  14. scale — in music
  15. mate — a partner
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. mate — to breed
  21. spell — letters
  22. mate — a friend
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. scale — for weighing

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