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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. perch — the fish
  4. track — a song
  5. drill — a practice
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. track — a path
  10. game — wild animals
  11. firm — decided
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kid — child
  14. firm — a company
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rash — a series
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. game — a match
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rash — hasty
  22. firm — steady
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cold — an illness

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