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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — for digging
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. drill — the tool
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — a match
  11. stock — goods
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. drill — army training
  18. stock — shares
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. drill — a practice
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ground — crushed

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