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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: foot · drill · hand · cold · mark · sharp · rest · land

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mark — a grade
  5. land — ground
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mark — a trace
  13. hand — help
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. drill — the tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. hand — in cards
  19. land — to come down
  20. cold — an illness
  21. land — a country
  22. foot — a measure
  23. drill — army training
  24. foot — part of the body

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