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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ground — a position
  6. kid — child
  7. spell — magic
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bound — certain
  13. net — in sport
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ground — the earth
  16. spell — letters
  17. drill — army training
  18. march — the month
  19. ground — crushed
  20. march — music
  21. net — after costs
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — the month
  24. net — for catching

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