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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — a series
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. drill — army training
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pass — a permit
  9. track — a song
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. track — a path
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ball — a great time
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cold — an illness
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pass — to spend time

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