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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the sport
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. ground — a position
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. face — to confront
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. face — part of the head
  14. ground — the earth
  15. face — to point toward
  16. ground — crushed
  17. snap — to click
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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