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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. spring — of water
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. game — a match
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — a hat

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