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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
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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 · chair · cabinet · wake · game · mug · cold · ball

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cold — an illness
  7. game — a match
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mug — a face
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. mug — to rob
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. drill — army training
  19. mug — a cup
  20. wake — a trail
  21. drill — a practice
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — wild animals
  24. ball — a round shape

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