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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 116 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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. deal — to handle
  5. march — the month
  6. drill — army training
  7. current — of water
  8. march — the month
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. drill — a practice
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. current — electric
  14. ball — a great time
  15. game — wild animals
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — music
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cold — not warm
  22. current — happening now
  23. game — a match
  24. ball — a round shape

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