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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 · rush · mine · chest · pop · rock · last

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pop — music
  4. last — finally
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — to go on
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rock — music
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chest — a box
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rush — hurry
  20. last — final
  21. pop — soda
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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