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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. drill — a practice
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wind — moving air
  8. sharp — clever
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. wind — moving air
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. scale — in music
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cold — not warm

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