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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. clip — for paper
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. clip — a video
  10. drill — army training
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. firm — decided
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. firm — steady
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pit — a hole
  22. craft — boats
  23. firm — a company
  24. drill — the tool

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