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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 120 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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fall — the season
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. drill — army training
  7. ground — a position
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spell — a short time
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spell — magic
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pit — a hole
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. spell — letters
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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