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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. face — to point toward
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. squash — to crush
  5. face — to confront
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. face — part of the head
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. game — wild animals
  24. drill — a practice

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