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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. roll — a list
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tube — a container
  8. kick — in football
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. tube — the underground
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cap — a hat
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cell — in a prison

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