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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. drill — a practice
  3. spell — letters
  4. can — a tin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — the tool
  8. can — a tin
  9. mug — to rob
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mug — a face
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mug — a cup
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mate — a friend
  19. saw — the tool
  20. can — to be able to
  21. spell — magic
  22. drill — army training
  23. mate — a partner
  24. clip — a video

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