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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 120 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: mouse · bulb · cold · cell · lie · press · row · track

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. track — a path
  6. row — a line
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — not warm
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. track — a song
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. track — to keep track
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. press — to push
  24. cold — the Cold War

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