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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rest — a break
  3. fine — high quality
  4. mine — for digging
  5. foot — a measure
  6. ground — a position
  7. shower — rain
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. ground — crushed
  12. drill — the tool
  13. rush — hurry
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. drill — army training
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ground — the earth
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. fine — all right
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. drill — a practice

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