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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. spring — of water
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. drill — army training
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. mark — a grade
  11. drill — the tool
  12. game — a match
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. squash — the sport
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bass — the fish
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spring — the season
  22. mark — a trace
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. drill — a practice

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