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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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. chip — to eat
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. file — a document
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. file — a tool
  24. hide — to keep secret

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