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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. saw — the tool
  2. last — final
  3. drill — army training
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cue — a signal
  6. drill — a practice
  7. last — finally
  8. kid — child
  9. charge — electricity
  10. press — a publisher
  11. charge — in control
  12. press — newspapers
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. charge — a price
  19. last — to go on
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. press — to push
  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