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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. swing — to play on
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wax — to grow
  7. swing — music
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. drill — a practice
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. land — a country
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. swing — in golf
  23. drill — army training
  24. patient — a sick person

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