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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 124 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. net — after costs
  3. drill — army training
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. ground — a position
  8. drill — the tool
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. march — music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — the month
  13. rest — what's left
  14. ground — crushed
  15. net — in sport
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. net — for catching
  18. drill — a practice
  19. march — the month
  20. track — a path
  21. rest — a break
  22. dip — to sink
  23. track — a song
  24. ground — the earth

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