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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. ground — a position
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — the earth
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — a company
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. cold — not warm
  16. roll — a list
  17. ground — crushed
  18. firm — decided
  19. stem — to come from
  20. drill — the tool
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cold — an illness

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