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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. drill — the tool
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. last — final
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. charge — electricity
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chair — a leader
  13. march — the month
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. deal — to handle
  19. last — to go on
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. march — music
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. last — finally
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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