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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. court — for sport
  11. tube — the underground
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. court — of a king
  14. lean — to bend
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tube — a container
  20. lean — thin
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. court — of law

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