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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · lie · drill · club · rash · cold · spring · pass

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. rash — a series
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spring — of water
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. rash — hasty
  13. drill — army training
  14. club — a group
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. drill — a practice
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. club — for dancing
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pass — a permit
  22. spring — the season
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. club — for golf

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