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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bulb — of a plant

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