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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. last — finally
  3. bass — low music
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. last — final
  7. drill — army training
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. drill — a practice
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wound — an injury

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