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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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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 · wake · club · cap · hide · staff · mug · cold

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. staff — employees
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. club — for golf
  13. mug — a face
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. club — for dancing
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cap — a lid
  20. staff — a stick
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. club — a group
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cold — not warm

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