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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. shower — rain
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. can — a tin
  11. present — there
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. can — to be able to
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stand — to bear
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. can — a tin
  24. stand — on your feet

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