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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. drill — a practice
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. ball — a great time
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. plane — a tool
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. drill — army training
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. ball — a dance
  20. kick — in football
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ball — a round shape

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