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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. drill — a practice
  5. content — the amount
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cold — an illness
  10. content — happy
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — hurry
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. rule — government
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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