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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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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: rash · tear · wind · cold · cap · mouse · content · suit

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cap — a lid
  16. content — the amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — to fit
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cap — a hat
  22. tear — to rip
  23. suit — in cards
  24. cold — an illness

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