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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. kid — child
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. mine — for digging
  14. hand — help
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cold — an illness
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. leaves — of a tree

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