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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mug — to rob
  7. present — a gift
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mug — a face
  10. rest — a break
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. clip — to cut
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. present — the time now
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mug — a cup
  20. tube — a container
  21. drill — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. present — there
  24. clip — for paper

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