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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. squash — to crush
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bound — certain
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bound — tied together
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bound — obliged
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. drill — army training
  11. ground — the earth
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spring — the season
  16. squash — the sport
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. roll — a list
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. drill — a practice
  21. ground — a position
  22. spring — a coil
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spring — of water

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