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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. game — a match
  5. drill — the tool
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. content — the amount
  9. kick — in football
  10. content — happy
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spell — letters
  14. drill — army training
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. game — wild animals
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cold — not warm
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. spell — magic
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bass — low music
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bass — the fish

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