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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fine — high quality
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — not warm
  8. game — a match
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. drill — the tool
  11. rash — a series
  12. rest — what's left
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cold — an illness
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fine — all right
  18. lean — thin
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rest — a break
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rest — what's left
  24. drill — army training

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