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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cell — in biology
  5. spell — magic
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bulb — for light
  8. ground — a position
  9. swing — to play on
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — a short time
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bulb — for light
  14. drill — a practice
  15. row — a line
  16. ground — crushed
  17. swing — music
  18. drill — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. spell — letters
  22. cell — a phone
  23. row — to paddle
  24. ground — the earth

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