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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: drill · fine · bat · lie · present · rush · bowl · cold

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cold — not warm
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fine — all right
  7. cold — an illness
  8. drill — a practice
  9. lie — to recline
  10. present — there
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. drill — army training
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fine — high quality
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rush — hurry
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. drill — the tool

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