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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · firm · squash · hide · bat · cold · mouse · jam

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. firm — a company
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. firm — decided
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. firm — steady
  12. squash — to crush
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bat — for baseball

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