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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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 — not warm
  2. charge — in control
  3. march — the month
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. race — a contest
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. drill — the tool
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. charge — a price
  10. march — the month
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. march — music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. race — the arms race
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. charge — electricity
  23. race — humankind
  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