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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: cold · arm · last · mouse · hide · spell · squash · object

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. last — final
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — an aim
  6. spell — magic
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. squash — to crush
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. last — finally
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spell — letters
  17. last — to go on
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. object — to protest
  21. squash — the sport
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spell — a short time

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