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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. rule — a law
  3. last — finally
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. scale — size or range
  7. last — to go on
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. last — final
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rule — government
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. scale — in music
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. bear — the animal
  19. hand — help
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mouse — for a computer

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