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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 120 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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. staff — employees
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pit — a hole
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bulb — for light
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cold — an illness
  18. drill — a practice
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. mouse — the animal

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