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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. staff — a stick
  5. object — a thing
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cold — not warm
  10. snap — to click
  11. object — to protest
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. board — to get on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. band — a ring
  16. staff — employees
  17. board — a committee
  18. object — an aim
  19. saw — the tool
  20. band — a music group
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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