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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wake — a trail
  7. rash — a series
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mark — a trace
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cap — a hat
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fine — all right
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cap — a lid
  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