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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. mug — a face
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — to drop
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. file — a tool
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. fall — the season
  19. file — a document
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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