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

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wound — an injury
  4. drill — a practice
  5. cold — not warm
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. drill — army training
  18. 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