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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. drill — a practice
  3. content — happy
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. season — of the year
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — in sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cold — not warm
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. saw — the tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. row — to paddle
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. row — a line
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. drill — army training
  24. sharp — clever

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