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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. deal — to handle
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — a line
  8. bound — certain
  9. content — happy
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. bound — obliged
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. mine — for digging
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. drill — a practice
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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