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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mouse · spring · mate · cold · spell · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spring — of water
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. spell — magic
  13. mate — a friend
  14. spell — letters
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mate — to breed

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