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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. net — in sport
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. drill — army training
  6. row — a line
  7. ball — a great time
  8. race — humankind
  9. file — a line of people
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. ball — a dance
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. race — a contest
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. net — after costs
  17. row — to paddle
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. deal — to handle
  20. race — the arms race
  21. file — a tool
  22. net — for catching
  23. file — a document
  24. drill — a practice

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