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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. band — a ring
  4. content — happy
  5. game — a match
  6. drill — a practice
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. race — the arms race
  9. content — the amount
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lean — to bend
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a music group
  21. race — a contest
  22. drill — the tool
  23. lean — thin
  24. game — wild animals

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