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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. drill — the tool
  3. ground — the earth
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. drill — army training
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bank — for money
  11. rock — a stone
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bank — for money
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rash — a series
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rock — music
  19. rash — hasty
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cold — not warm
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cold — the Cold War

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