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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — a cup
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mug — to rob
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — a video
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — to cut
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chest — of your body

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