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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — wild animals
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. last — final
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. last — to go on
  13. wound — an injury
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. drill — army training
  16. game — a match
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. last — finally
  20. rash — a series
  21. band — a ring
  22. rash — hasty
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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