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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. key — the most important part
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ground — the earth
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. squash — the sport
  12. key — for a lock
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. drill — the tool
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. degree — temperature
  19. key — in music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. drill — army training

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