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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: mouse · cold · spring · rest · kid · swing · lean · track

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. rest — what's left
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. swing — music
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lean — thin
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spring — the season
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. track — a song
  21. spring — of water
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. mouse — the animal

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