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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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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 · swing · pitcher · mate · stand · nail · cold · ground

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mate — a partner
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. swing — music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stand — to bear
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — the earth

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