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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. drill — a practice
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rash — a series
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. scale — size or range
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rash — hasty
  11. court — for sport
  12. squash — the sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. hand — help
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tear — to rip
  19. squash — to crush
  20. drill — the tool
  21. court — of law
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. scale — in music
  24. tear — from crying

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