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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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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: drill · club · wake · ground · lie · bulb · cold · stick

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. club — a group
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. ground — the earth
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. lie — to recline
  10. drill — army training
  11. club — for golf
  12. cold — not warm
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. club — for dancing
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. ground — crushed
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wake — a trail
  24. ground — a position

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