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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 116 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ground — a position
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stock — shares
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. drill — army training
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. row — to paddle
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. drill — a practice
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stock — goods
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bass — low music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. ground — crushed

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