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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pop — to visit
  5. drill — a practice
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. snap — to click
  9. pop — soda
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. spring — the season
  18. drill — the tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. spring — a coil
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. pop — music
  24. court — of law

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