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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cue — a signal
  3. current — electric
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cue — for pool
  6. current — of water
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — not warm
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cue — a hint
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. current — happening now
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fall — to drop
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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