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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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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: game · drill · scale · straw · bore · ground · board · cap

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ground — a position
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cap — a lid
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. drill — army training
  10. scale — in music
  11. bore — to tire
  12. board — to get on
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. board — a committee
  16. ground — crushed
  17. game — a match
  18. drill — a practice
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cap — of ice
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bore — to drill

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