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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. perch — the fish
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. squash — to crush
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. ground — crushed
  12. squash — the sport
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ground — the earth
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. drill — the tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. drill — a practice
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. ground — a position
  24. chair — a leader

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