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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. drill — army training
  6. ground — the earth
  7. land — ground
  8. drill — a practice
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. ground — crushed
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — help
  18. rule — government
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rule — a law
  21. sharp — clever
  22. ground — a position
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. drill — the tool

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