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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. wound — an injury
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. drill — a practice
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. dip — to sink
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cold — an illness
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wound — an injury
  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