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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: row · mouse · wave · cell · spring · dip · kid · rule

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. rule — government
  6. spring — the season
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. spring — of water
  14. kid — to tease
  15. row — a line
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. dip — to sink
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. cell — in biology
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rule — a law

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