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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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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 · game · roll · rash · kid · mouse · mug · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. roll — a list
  3. mug — a cup
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. game — a match
  9. last — to go on
  10. kid — to tease
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mug — a face
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rash — hasty
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mug — to rob
  18. last — final
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. drill — army training
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. rash — a series
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. kid — child

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