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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: foot · kid · drill · ball · stock · band · wound · ground

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. ball — a round shape
  2. stock — goods
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ground — crushed
  5. foot — a measure
  6. stock — shares
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wound — an injury
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. band — a ring
  15. drill — army training
  16. kid — to tease
  17. drill — the tool
  18. kid — child
  19. ball — a great time
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. band — a music group
  22. ground — a position
  23. ball — a dance
  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