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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bark — to shout
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — the tool
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chest — a box
  10. mine — for digging
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. band — a ring
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. band — a music group
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. ground — crushed
  23. chest — of your body
  24. track — to keep track

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