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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: hand · mouse · rock · chest · land · stick · foot · cold

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. rock — music
  5. land — ground
  6. rock — a stone
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. chest — a box
  13. land — to come down
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. hand — help
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. land — a country
  22. foot — a measure
  23. chest — of your body
  24. foot — the bottom

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