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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 116 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — help
  4. content — happy
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — steady
  8. cold — an illness
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. court — for sport
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. court — of law
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. firm — decided
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cold — not warm
  23. hand — in cards
  24. court — of a king

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