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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · ball · bulb · cold · arm · spell · chest · mine

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bulb — for light
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spell — letters
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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