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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 124 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. ground — a position
  3. drill — army training
  4. ground — the earth
  5. last — finally
  6. club — for golf
  7. spell — letters
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cap — a lid
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. cap — of ice
  18. club — a group
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. bark — to shout
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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