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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
468
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: squash · mouse · chest · sharp · wound · rock · cold · spring

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. chest — a box
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rock — a stone
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. spring — the season
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rock — music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spring — of water
  22. chest — of your body
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spring — a coil

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