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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cold — an illness
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cold — not warm
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rock — music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. deal — to handle
  13. rock — a stone
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. file — a tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. hand — help
  24. file — a document

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