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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. drill — army training
  3. fine — all right
  4. drill — the tool
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ground — the earth
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — in a race

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