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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. lean — thin
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. root — the cause
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. branch — a division
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to click
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lean — to bend
  19. root — of a plant
  20. pit — in a race
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. root — of a word

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