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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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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 · bear · racket · cold · sharp · hide · net · kid

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cold — an illness
  3. sharp — clever
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. net — after costs
  7. bear — the animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — child
  18. bear — the animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. net — in sport

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