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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 124 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. drill — army training
  5. chair — a leader
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. club — for golf
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. ground — crushed
  16. club — a group
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ground — a position
  19. club — for dancing
  20. row — a line
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wind — moving air

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