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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wake — a trail
  5. drill — the tool
  6. snap — to click
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stock — goods
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. drill — a practice
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. stock — shares
  21. drill — army training
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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