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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bank — of a river
  4. rush — hurry
  5. land — ground
  6. drill — army training
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. land — a country
  9. bank — for money
  10. bound — certain
  11. shower — rain
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. drill — a practice
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bank — for money
  17. bound — tied together
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — to come down
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bound — obliged
  23. ground — the earth
  24. trunk — of a tree

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