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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. drill — a practice
  5. object — an aim
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mine — for digging
  8. present — there
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. drill — the tool
  18. object — to protest
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. game — a match
  24. object — a thing

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