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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pit — a hole
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hand — help
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pop — soda
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pop — music
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. ruler — for measuring

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