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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: object · drill · squash · snap · kick · cold · fine · field

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — a practice
  4. object — to protest
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cold — an illness
  11. snap — to click
  12. fine — high quality
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. drill — the tool
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. drill — army training
  18. field — a subject
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cold — not warm
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kick — in football
  24. squash — the sport

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