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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 124 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pit — a hole
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. object — to protest
  10. hand — in cards
  11. object — an aim
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hand — help
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. pit — in a race
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. object — a thing
  24. fork — in a road

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