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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. charge — electricity
  3. drill — a practice
  4. charge — a price
  5. last — final
  6. degree — temperature
  7. last — finally
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. field — a subject
  11. cue — a hint
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. charge — in control
  16. field — farmland
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cold — an illness
  19. degree — from a university
  20. last — to go on
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — for pool
  24. field — for sport

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