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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. row — to paddle
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bat — the animal
  18. row — a line
  19. rush — hurry
  20. ball — a dance
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. rush — a thrill
  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