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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. file — a line of people
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — in sport
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. game — wild animals
  9. season — of the year
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. file — a tool
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. file — a document
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. game — a match

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