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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. drill — the tool
  5. key — in music
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bound — tied together
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. bound — certain
  16. ground — the earth
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bound — obliged
  23. drill — army training
  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