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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. ground — crushed
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. drill — army training
  6. wound — an injury
  7. club — for golf
  8. ground — a position
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mate — a partner
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mate — to breed
  15. drill — a practice
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spring — of water
  20. mate — a friend
  21. club — a group
  22. spring — the season
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. drill — the tool

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