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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ground — a position
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ball — a great time
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bat — for baseball

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