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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fine — high quality
  6. ground — a position
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. drill — army training
  10. row — a line
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ground — the earth
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. land — a country
  15. fine — all right
  16. land — to come down
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. row — to paddle
  19. drill — a practice
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. land — ground
  22. branch — a division
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. nail — on a finger

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