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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cap — a lid
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. march — music
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. bat — the animal
  12. snap — to click
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — the month
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. march — the month
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. lie — an untruth

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