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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 120 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — army training
  3. pop — music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pop — to visit
  8. drill — the tool
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. spring — of water
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cold — not warm
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cold — an illness
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spring — the season
  18. deal — to handle
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. pop — soda
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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