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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. deal — to handle
  4. net — in sport
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. net — for catching
  7. drill — a practice
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. land — ground
  12. root — of a word
  13. drill — the tool
  14. toast — bread
  15. land — a country
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — to come down
  18. shower — rain
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cold — an illness
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. net — after costs
  24. root — the cause

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