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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. band — a ring
  4. hand — help
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — to protest
  7. row — a line
  8. chest — of your body
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. hand — in cards
  12. band — a music group
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. object — an aim
  15. chest — a box
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. craft — boats
  18. chest — of your body
  19. craft — a skill
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. mouse — the animal

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