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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 116 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: game · racket · nail · drill · row · ground · trunk · wound

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — the earth
  3. game — a match
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. drill — army training
  8. game — wild animals
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. ground — a position
  21. row — a line
  22. wound — an injury
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. row — a quarrel

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