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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: temple · swing · mouse · hide · arm · cold · object · squash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cold — not warm
  12. swing — in golf
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. object — an aim
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. swing — music
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. squash — to crush
  24. hide — to keep secret

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