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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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 — a practice
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cap — a hat
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. track — a song
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rule — a law
  13. game — wild animals
  14. clip — for paper
  15. game — a match
  16. clip — to cut
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rule — government
  19. squash — to crush
  20. track — a path
  21. clip — a video
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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