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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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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 · game · sharp · cold · cell · shower · suit · bear

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. game — a match
  5. cell — a phone
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. shower — to wash
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. suit — to fit
  16. cold — not warm
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bear — the animal
  22. suit — in cards
  23. suit — clothes
  24. cell — in biology

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