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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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 — a practice
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. wake — a trail
  5. object — to protest
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. land — a country
  10. cold — an illness
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — of water
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. drill — the tool
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. object — an aim
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. squash — the sport
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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