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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. sharp — clever
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — an illness
  8. charge — in control
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. charge — electricity
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. drill — army training
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fan — a supporter

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