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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: squash · ground · mark · drill · band · arm · bat · tear

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ground — a position
  5. band — a music group
  6. drill — army training
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mark — a grade
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — to crush
  19. band — a ring
  20. drill — a practice
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. tear — to rip

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