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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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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: kid · mark · cold · mouse · wind · cap · mug · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cap — of ice
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mug — a face
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mark — a grade
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kid — child
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. club — a group
  13. mug — to rob
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mug — a cup
  22. mark — a trace
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — a hat

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