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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. drill — army training
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. drill — a practice
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. rash — a series
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ground — a position
  24. prune — the fruit

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