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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spell — letters
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cue — a hint
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cue — a signal
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. toast — bread
  15. cap — of ice
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cap — a hat
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cold — an illness
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. spell — magic
  24. chest — a box

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