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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. race — a contest
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. race — humankind
  14. hand — in cards
  15. race — the arms race
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. drill — a practice
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. season — in sport
  22. rock — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rock — a stone

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