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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. drill — army training
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. present — there
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. foot — a measure
  8. drill — a practice
  9. present — the time now
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. present — a gift
  19. last — final
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mine — for digging
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wound — an injury

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