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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. ground — a position
  5. field — farmland
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pound — a weight
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pass — a permit
  14. field — a subject
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. drill — the tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. capital — a city
  19. field — for sport
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. capital — money
  24. drill — a practice

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