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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. season — in sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. snap — to click
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — to keep track
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. track — a song
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wound — an injury
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. track — a path

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