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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. court — for sport
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — not warm
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. key — in music
  14. row — a line
  15. hand — help
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. season — of the year
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. row — to paddle
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. season — in sport
  24. stock — shares

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