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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. last — final
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pop — to visit
  9. drill — army training
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a document
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pop — soda
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rule — a law
  19. last — to go on
  20. rule — government
  21. pop — music
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. last — finally

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