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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. lean — thin
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. present — there
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. present — the time now
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cold — an illness
  14. can — a tin
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bat — the animal
  20. present — a gift
  21. rock — music
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rock — to move gently

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