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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. drill — army training
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — an illness
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. march — the month
  12. drill — a practice
  13. march — music
  14. root — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bulb — for light
  19. drill — the tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cell — a phone
  24. nail — for a hammer

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