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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · spell · row · ground · cabinet · drill · craft · patient

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. drill — army training
  3. hand — in cards
  4. ground — crushed
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. craft — a skill
  7. row — a line
  8. spell — letters
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ground — a position
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. craft — boats
  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