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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. current — electric
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. can — to be able to
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — not warm
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. current — of water
  16. bear — the animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. can — a tin
  19. current — happening now
  20. bear — the animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. scale — in music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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