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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — employees
  3. track — a song
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. game — a match
  10. staff — a stick
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. track — to keep track
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cold — an illness
  20. staff — employees
  21. track — a path
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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