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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. march — music
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cell — in biology
  7. march — the month
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — the month
  12. last — to go on
  13. current — electric
  14. wound — an injury
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. ball — a great time
  17. current — of water
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. current — happening now
  22. cell — a phone
  23. drill — the tool
  24. deal — to handle

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