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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chest — a box
  6. drill — army training
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of law
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — high quality
  11. drill — a practice
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. court — of a king
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. court — for sport
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. snap — to click
  22. cold — an illness
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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