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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. drill — army training
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. object — to protest
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pop — soda
  9. object — an aim
  10. cold — an illness
  11. object — a thing
  12. cold — not warm
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. file — a line of people
  19. drill — a practice
  20. file — a document
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. drill — the tool
  23. file — a tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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