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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. ground — crushed
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. land — to come down
  8. dip — to sink
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mate — a friend
  11. ground — a position
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. land — a country
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mate — a partner
  22. roll — a list
  23. drill — army training
  24. mate — to breed

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