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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.

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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: last · key · mouse · roll · court · cold · rush · straw

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. court — of law
  3. cold — an illness
  4. roll — a list
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. key — the most important part
  9. court — of a king
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. last — finally
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. roll — a cake
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. last — to go on
  21. key — in music
  22. court — for sport
  23. rush — hurry
  24. roll — on a roll

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