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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. tube — a container
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mug — a cup
  5. scale — in music
  6. squash — to crush
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mug — to rob
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wound — an injury
  12. spring — of water
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. spring — the season
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. scale — size or range
  18. mug — a face
  19. squash — the sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mouse — for a computer

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