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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a committee
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. hand — help
  11. fine — high quality
  12. degree — from a university
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. degree — an amount
  15. board — to get on
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. hand — in cards
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. fine — all right
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. degree — temperature
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cold — not warm

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