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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 · snap · bay · bound · wave · cold · spring · drill

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bound — certain
  3. spring — of water
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. snap — to click
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bound — tied together
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spring — the season
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cold — the Cold War

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