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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. drill — army training
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. drill — the tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. ground — a position
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. drill — a practice
  15. last — to go on
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fine — all right
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. shower — rain

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