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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 124 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. hand — in cards
  3. last — to go on
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. last — finally
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bass — low music
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rock — music
  13. drill — army training
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. drill — the tool
  18. last — final
  19. bass — the fish
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cold — an illness
  23. roll — a list
  24. hand — help

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