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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 116 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: spring · cold · bear · staff · chair · snap · squash · mouse

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chair — a leader
  4. staff — employees
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — an illness
  11. snap — to click
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. staff — employees
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spring — of water
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bear — the animal
  20. staff — a stick
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. squash — the sport

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