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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. saw — the tool
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cold — an illness
  10. drill — a practice
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bound — obliged
  13. saw — the tool
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. face — to point toward
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bound — certain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wake — a trail
  20. drill — the tool
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. face — to confront
  23. cold — not warm
  24. drill — army training

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