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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. root — the cause
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rash — hasty
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. drill — army training
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chest — a box
  23. root — of a word
  24. wind — moving air

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