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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: wound · pass · squash · rash · drill · row · cold · rest

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rash — hasty
  5. squash — to crush
  6. row — a line
  7. pass — a permit
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rest — a break
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — a practice
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. drill — army training
  20. cold — an illness
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rash — a series
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pass — to succeed

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