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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. march — the month
  3. net — for catching
  4. row — to paddle
  5. net — after costs
  6. drill — the tool
  7. ground — a position
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spell — a short time
  14. net — in sport
  15. row — a line
  16. ground — crushed
  17. game — a match
  18. drill — army training
  19. stand — to bear
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. spell — magic
  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