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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. fall — the season
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — in cards
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — help
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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