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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chest — of your body
  3. drill — army training
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cold — not warm
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bore — to drill
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — in cards
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — to tire
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. net — in sport
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — a box
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. suit — clothes
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cold — an illness

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