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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.

Make a worksheet

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: rash · arm · mouse · last · rock · hide · can · cold

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. last — finally
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. last — final
  7. rock — a stone
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. rash — hasty
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cold — an illness
  15. can — to be able to
  16. rash — a series
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. last — to go on
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mouse — for a computer

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