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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rest — what's left
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cold — an illness
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bat — the animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mug — a cup
  19. rest — a break
  20. mug — a face
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bat — for baseball
  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