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

Word bank: snap · cell · cold · row · rest · mouse

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cell — in biology
  4. row — a line
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rest — what's left
  7. snap — to click
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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