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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. can — to be able to
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spring — a coil
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. can — a tin
  13. row — a line
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — moving air
  16. current — electric
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spring — the season
  19. drill — the tool
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. game — a match
  23. spring — of water
  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