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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · mark · kid · can · cold · row · drill · perch

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. can — a tin
  5. mark — a grade
  6. can — a tin
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — steady
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cold — not warm
  13. drill — a practice
  14. kid — child
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. firm — decided
  18. can — to be able to
  19. mark — a trace
  20. kid — to tease
  21. drill — the tool
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cold — an illness
  24. row — a line

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