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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — a hat
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cold — not warm
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. mug — a face
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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