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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. current — happening now
  5. march — music
  6. drill — a practice
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. ball — a great time
  10. current — electric
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. deal — to handle
  14. current — of water
  15. march — the month
  16. drill — army training
  17. ball — a dance
  18. march — the month

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