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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hand — help
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. shower — rain
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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