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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: ruler · ground · drill · cold · bay · pitch · content · file

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ground — the earth
  5. file — a document
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. file — a tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. ground — crushed
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. drill — the tool
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. content — happy
  21. ground — a position
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cold — an illness
  24. drill — a practice

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