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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. drill — army training
  3. pop — music
  4. field — for sport
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fall — to drop
  8. last — finally
  9. fall — to drop
  10. field — a subject
  11. squash — the sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pop — soda
  14. field — farmland
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cap — of ice
  20. fall — the season
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cap — a hat
  23. squash — to crush
  24. last — final

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