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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: file · ground · rush · court · craft · cell · drill · rash

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. craft — a skill
  3. file — a tool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. ground — a position
  6. court — of law
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. file — a document
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. court — of a king
  17. drill — a practice
  18. court — for sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cell — a phone
  23. drill — the tool
  24. file — a line of people

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