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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — the tool
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. drill — a practice
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — the animal
  12. staff — a stick
  13. ground — the earth
  14. land — to come down
  15. field — farmland
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. ground — crushed
  18. staff — employees
  19. field — for sport
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. march — music
  22. ground — a position
  23. staff — employees
  24. field — a subject

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