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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — in sport
  3. mark — a trace
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pound — a weight
  6. drill — army training
  7. ground — the earth
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. present — there
  10. net — after costs
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ground — a position
  21. mark — a grade
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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