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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. drill — army training
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. land — a country
  10. board — to get on
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. lie — to recline
  13. land — to come down
  14. board — a committee
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. land — ground
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — the tool

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