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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. season — in sport
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. last — to go on
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. last — final
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rule — government
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. season — of the year
  18. drill — a practice
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. shower — rain
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. last — finally
  24. rule — a 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