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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spring — of water
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. last — final
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. last — finally
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chip — for betting
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. spring — the season
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bass — low music
  22. fork — in a road
  23. last — to go on
  24. bass — the fish

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