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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. land — ground
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. drill — a practice
  5. spell — letters
  6. root — of a word
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rash — hasty
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. land — a country
  16. root — the cause
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rash — a series
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. land — to come down
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. spell — magic

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