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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: drill · present · wake · mouse · pitcher · court · kick · cold

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. drill — army training
  7. court — for sport
  8. present — the time now
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of law
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. drill — the tool
  16. present — there
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. kick — in football
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. court — of a king
  24. present — a gift

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