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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. game — a match
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. squash — the sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. club — for golf
  14. shower — rain
  15. club — a group
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pitch — completely
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. shower — to wash
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pass — a permit
  24. club — for dancing

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