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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ground — the earth
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ball — a great time
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cold — an illness
  13. drill — the tool
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ground — a position
  17. rock — a stone
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a face
  20. clip — for paper
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. clip — a video
  23. mug — a cup
  24. ball — a dance

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