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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fine — all right
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. spell — letters
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. row — a line
  11. drill — army training
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — high quality
  14. stand — to bear
  15. court — of law
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spell — magic
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spell — a short time

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