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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. present — there
  3. can — a tin
  4. present — a gift
  5. drill — the tool
  6. can — a tin
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. spell — magic
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. land — ground
  15. can — to be able to
  16. drill — a practice
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. present — the time now
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — army training
  22. cold — an illness
  23. land — a country
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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