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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. shower — to wash
  3. drill — army training
  4. rest — what's left
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rest — a break
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. shower — rain
  16. staff — employees
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rest — what's left
  21. staff — a stick
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. ball — a dance

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