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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. net — after costs
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bass — low music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rule — a law
  7. band — a music group
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — rain
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. drill — the tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. net — for catching
  15. shower — to wash
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rest — a break
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — the fish
  20. net — in sport
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rule — government
  24. drill — a practice

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