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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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. craft — a skill
  3. kid — to tease
  4. drill — army training
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. content — the amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — happy
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — to visit
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. drill — the tool
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. craft — boats
  23. cell — a phone
  24. coach — a trainer

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