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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — an illness
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rest — a break
  7. tube — a container
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. deal — to handle
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — a match
  14. drill — army training
  15. mark — a grade
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. kick — in football
  21. mark — a trace
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. drill — a practice
  24. tube — the underground

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