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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rash — hasty
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. snap — to click
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rash — a series

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