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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. chest — a box
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. stand — to bear
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chest — of your body
  15. drill — a practice
  16. club — for golf
  17. chest — of your body
  18. hand — help
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. drill — the tool

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