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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pitch — completely
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. swing — music
  6. rush — hurry
  7. swing — in golf
  8. current — electric
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. kid — child
  12. drill — army training
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. drill — a practice
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. current — happening now
  21. squash — the sport
  22. current — of water
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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