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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — for digging
  10. drill — army training
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. can — a tin
  15. drill — the tool
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pound — a weight
  24. can — a tin

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