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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. drill — army training
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. can — a tin
  9. firm — steady
  10. court — for sport
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. drill — a practice
  15. firm — decided
  16. drill — the tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. firm — a company
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. court — of a king
  21. can — to be able to
  22. pound — a weight
  23. squash — the sport
  24. court — of law

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