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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: rest · deal · pit · content · game · cold · tear · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cold — an illness
  4. content — the amount
  5. pit — in a race
  6. game — a match
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pit — a hole
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. tear — from crying
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cold — not warm
  24. deal — to handle

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