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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. ground — crushed
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. swing — in golf
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. ground — the earth
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. band — a music group
  12. chair — a leader
  13. swing — music
  14. band — a ring
  15. drill — army training
  16. swing — to play on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. drill — a practice
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wake — a trail

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