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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. game — a match
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pound — a weight
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. game — wild animals

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