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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 120 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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. band — a music group
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. band — a ring
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cold — not warm
  17. row — to paddle
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rash — a series

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