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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. drill — army training
  4. rest — what's left
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rest — a break
  7. drill — a practice
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rest — what's left
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. squash — the sport
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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