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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. drill — army training
  3. cold — not warm
  4. court — of a king
  5. squash — to crush
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bass — the fish
  8. court — of law
  9. squash — the sport
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. race — humankind
  14. court — for sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. race — a contest
  18. bass — low music
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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