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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. mug — to rob
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pop — soda
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cap — a lid
  8. court — of a king
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. mug — a face
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pop — music
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. court — of law
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bound — obliged
  17. court — for sport
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. plane — a 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