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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. ground — a position
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. hand — in cards
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — a match
  19. ground — crushed
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. hand — help
  22. stem — to come from
  23. rock — a stone
  24. cold — an illness

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