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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. court — of law
  4. drill — the tool
  5. file — a tool
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. spring — a coil
  8. drill — a practice
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. file — a document
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. spring — of water
  18. court — of a king
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. court — for sport
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. spring — the season

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