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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mug — to rob
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spell — magic
  10. last — final
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spring — of water
  14. spell — letters
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. spring — the season
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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