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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. court — of a king
  3. drill — a practice
  4. branch — a division
  5. file — a tool
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. drill — the tool
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rush — hurry
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. file — a document
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. pass — a permit
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rush — to hurry

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