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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — the earth
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. hand — in cards
  8. drill — the tool
  9. net — for catching
  10. staff — employees
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. drill — a practice
  16. hand — help
  17. staff — a stick
  18. net — in sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — after costs
  21. staff — employees
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. drill — army training
  24. ground — a position

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