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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: cold · content · fork · wind · mate · stick · mouse · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mate — to breed
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a list
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. content — the amount
  14. fork — in a road
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — a friend
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mate — a partner
  23. content — happy
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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