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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. ball — a great time
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ball — a dance
  5. race — the arms race
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. content — happy
  8. field — farmland
  9. race — humankind
  10. squash — to crush
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. race — a contest
  14. field — a subject
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. field — for sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. content — the amount
  24. squash — the sport

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