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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  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. drill — a practice
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. ground — the earth
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. drill — army training
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ground — a position
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — a phone
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. clip — for paper
  18. band — a music group
  19. clip — a video
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — to cut
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. racket — a loud noise
  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