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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chair — a leader
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. field — farmland
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. field — for sport
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. ground — crushed
  12. drill — the tool
  13. ground — the earth
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ground — a position
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. drill — a practice
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. row — a line
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. row — to paddle
  23. field — a subject
  24. perch — the fish

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