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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: ball · suit · bear · row · deal · tear · cold · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ball — a dance
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — clothes
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. ball — a great time
  9. cold — an illness
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. tear — to rip
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bear — the animal

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