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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cue — a hint
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fork — in a road
  9. kid — child
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cue — for pool
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cue — a signal
  22. march — the month
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. kid — to tease

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