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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. mouse — for a computer
  2. cap — a lid
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. band — a music group
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bark — to shout
  7. hand — help
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fall — the season
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. band — a ring
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cap — of ice
  23. hand — in cards
  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