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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. field — farmland
  5. spell — magic
  6. kick — in football
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. hand — help
  10. spell — letters
  11. drill — army training
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. drill — the tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. roll — a cake
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. field — a subject
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rush — hurry
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. roll — a list

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