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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. drill — a practice
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. drill — army training
  6. file — a document
  7. drill — the tool
  8. season — of the year
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. kick — in football
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. toast — bread
  16. file — a tool
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cold — not warm
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. fine — all right
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fine — high quality
  23. cold — an illness
  24. season — in 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