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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. present — the time now
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. present — there
  8. kid — to tease
  9. swing — to play on
  10. deal — to handle
  11. pit — a hole
  12. swing — music
  13. kid — child
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — a gift
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pit — in a race
  20. drill — a practice
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. drill — army training
  23. cap — a hat
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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