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

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. last — finally
  3. land — to come down
  4. last — to go on
  5. land — a country
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. bound — certain
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. land — ground
  12. rest — a break
  13. last — final
  14. shower — rain
  15. rest — what's left
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bound — tied together
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bound — obliged
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. drill — a practice

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