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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. ground — the earth
  10. hand — in cards
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stock — goods
  13. ground — crushed
  14. hand — help
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stock — shares
  18. ground — a position
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cue — for pool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stock — a soup base

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