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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 120 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. swing — in golf
  3. drill — army training
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rock — a stone
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rock — music
  10. swing — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cold — an illness
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — to play on
  20. hand — help
  21. last — final
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. hand — part of the body

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