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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. drill — army training
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. drill — the tool
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — for digging
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bass — low music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. key — for a lock
  16. root — of a word
  17. key — in music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. ground — crushed
  20. root — the cause
  21. drill — a practice
  22. ground — the earth
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. key — the most important part

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