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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 124 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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. suit — clothes
  3. row — a line
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cold — an illness
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. can — to be able to
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — to paddle
  13. suit — to fit
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — a tin
  16. suit — in cards
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hand — help
  20. can — a tin
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pop — soda

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