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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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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: straw · ground · drill · land · cue · lean · net · pop

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. land — ground
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cue — a signal
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. ground — the earth
  7. lean — to bend
  8. land — a country
  9. pop — music
  10. ground — crushed
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. pop — soda
  14. cue — a hint
  15. land — to come down
  16. lean — thin
  17. cue — for pool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. ground — a position
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. net — for catching
  24. pop — to visit

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