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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. drill — army training
  4. spell — a short time
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mate — a friend
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mine — for digging
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. hand — help
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. drill — the tool
  23. ground — a position
  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