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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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. drill — the tool
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. lean — to bend
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. hand — help
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. lean — thin
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. kick — in football

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