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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. net — after costs
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. scale — in music
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. net — in sport
  18. cold — not warm

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