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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bore — to tire
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. ground — a position
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bore — to drill
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. leaves — to go away

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