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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. net — after costs
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bass — the fish
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bass — low music
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. face — to confront
  15. net — for catching
  16. ground — a position
  17. face — to point toward
  18. net — in sport
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. face — part of the head

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