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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. drill — army training
  3. cold — an illness
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. drill — the tool
  6. game — a match
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. ball — a dance
  13. current — of water
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. drill — a practice
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. current — electric
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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