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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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Word bank
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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. drill — army training
  3. mate — a partner
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cell — a phone
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mate — a friend
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. foot — a measure
  12. mate — to breed
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. deal — to handle
  16. drill — a practice
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rush — hurry
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — the bottom

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