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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 120 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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ball — a dance
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. scale — in music
  14. sharp — clever
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. scale — size or range
  20. kid — to tease
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. tear — to rip
  23. ball — a great time
  24. kid — child

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