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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — a series
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — clothes
  8. spring — a coil
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. tube — a container
  12. rash — hasty
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. spring — of water
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. land — ground
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. spring — the season
  23. suit — to fit
  24. cold — not warm

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