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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: cold · saw · bowl · mine · chip · object · drill · stick

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. object — to protest
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mine — for digging
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. object — a thing
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. object — an aim
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chip — to eat
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — an illness

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