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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 120 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. mug — a cup
  3. ground — crushed
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. mug — a face
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cell — a phone
  14. drill — army training
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ground — a position
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. board — to get on
  19. drill — a practice
  20. board — a committee
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. mug — to rob
  24. drill — the tool

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