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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. drill — a practice
  4. scale — size or range
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. row — a line
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. drill — the tool
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wax — to grow
  15. scale — in music
  16. bear — the animal
  17. ground — a position
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bear — the animal
  20. drill — army training
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — crushed

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