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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 120 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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. cue — for pool
  3. charge — electricity
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. drill — the tool
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. charge — a price
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. drill — army training
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cue — a signal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cue — a hint
  17. charge — in control
  18. kid — child

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