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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pop — music
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. squash — to crush
  10. file — a tool
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — not warm
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wound — an injury
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pop — soda
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. file — a document
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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