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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. drill — a practice
  3. march — the month
  4. press — newspapers
  5. drill — army training
  6. rash — hasty
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — the month
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. rash — a series
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. march — music

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