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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — after costs
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. drill — a practice
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. net — for catching
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. perch — the fish
  17. drill — the tool
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cold — an illness
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. net — in sport

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