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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. net — in sport
  3. court — for sport
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — of a king
  12. current — electric
  13. net — after costs
  14. spring — of water
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. court — of law
  17. lie — to recline
  18. current — happening now
  19. spring — the season
  20. cold — an illness
  21. net — for catching
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. current — of water
  24. fan — a supporter

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