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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. mate — a partner
  3. last — finally
  4. mate — a friend
  5. ground — crushed
  6. drill — a practice
  7. tear — to rip
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. tear — from crying
  11. drill — the tool
  12. mate — to breed
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a ring
  15. drill — army training
  16. ground — a position
  17. last — final
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. last — to go on
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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