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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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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: bay · press · cold · calf · last · net · mouse · firm

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. firm — a company
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — to go on
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. firm — decided
  12. net — for catching
  13. last — finally
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. press — newspapers
  18. firm — steady
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. last — final
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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